#I guess I just have a miniature cat

[pangur-and-grim]

it makes me so happy to see them hanging out as a little family!

[ckret2]

Chapter 54 of everybody being really eager to kill their prisoner human Bill Cipher for good: the gang's trying a new way to create fuel for the one weapon guaranteed to destroy Bill.

It goes so great.

As Ford drove to Northwest Manor, Dipper skimmed through the introduction to Flatworld, where Edward Bishop Bishop was pretending that his book had been dictated to him by a sentient square; but he couldn't focus on it. He sighed, shut the book, and stared out the passenger window at the passing trees.

"Something on your mind?" Ford asked.

"I'm thinking about the Axolotl's poem again. The one about Bill."

"Ah. Still trying to remember the rest?"

"Kinda. Mabel and I are working on it together," Dipper said. "But it's not that. I've just been wondering... what if the poem is... you know, part of a prophecy about Bill or something? Mabel remembered another line of the poem—'A different form, a different time.' What if the Axolotl was telling us why Bill's back as a human? Maybe we need him here—to, to use his powers to fight off a bigger threat or something. Do you think that's possible?" He held back another question: what happens if we kill him before then?

Ford frowned thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about the Axolotl as well," he said. "About the worlds I visited that called it a god of criminals, tyrants, and luck. That sounds to me like the exact kind of being that would be Bill's ally. And it's odd how resistant Bill was to telling us anything about the Axolotl, when it simply passed over town for a few seconds and then moved on. Why the secrecy? How does Bill think it benefits him for us not to know about it?" Ford shook his head. "I think you're on to something, Dipper—I think whatever the Axolotl told you is important. The question is: important for whom?"

Dipper's stomach turned. The Axolotl had radiated such kindness; it was hard for Dipper to believe it could be up to anything evil with Bill. But then—Dipper clutched at Flatworld with the damning biography on the back—but then, how many people had Bill himself fooled with the benevolent teacher act?

Dipper understood now why "Don't Trust Bill" had so quickly turned into "Trust No One." Even when you knew that there was only one real enemy—even when you knew that most people out there were still reasonably honest and friendly—you could never tell just how far Bill's shadow stretched. "I guess that's true. We can't really know."

"We can't know yet. But it is worth trying to figure out," Ford said. "I wish I could tell you where to start looking for answers. For now... we'll just have to consider anything possible."

Ford was right. But all the same, every time Dipper paranoidly asked himself What if Grunkle Ford is right, what if the Axolotl really is on Bill's side, a second, even more paranoid, even more worried voice asked, But what if he isn't?

####

When they arrived, Fiddleford was already in his lab, hard at work on the miniature particle accelerator they'd come to see him about.

"The paradox what was powering it started yowling" Fiddleford said. "So obviously it ain't a paradox no more."

Ford grimaced. "That does lay to rest whether the cat is alive or dead."

"Sure does," Fiddleford said, sighing. "So I let the cat outside and I'm rebuilding the whole contraption to run on a more robust paradox. I hope you've got better news for me, Stanford."

"We hope so too. I think Dipper might have the solution to our fuel generation problem."

They briefly explained Dipper's unfortunate puppet incident last summer—Fiddleford had to take a break in the middle to grab a cup of coffee, "To steady my nerves,"—its ongoing effects on his sleep, and the new developments of the last few days, culminating in Dipper learning how to project his soul out of his body—

—which, Ford now realized, he probably should have expected Fiddleford to take poorly.

"Sweet sasparilla!" Fiddleford kicked over his chair while jumping onto the nearest table. "You're dead?!"

"What?" Dipper said. "No, I—"

"You're like a ghost possessing a zombie!"

Dipper thought that over. "Whoa..."

But, even though Fiddleford thought the whole affair went against the rightful order of the world, he agreed that it was a sound idea and worth trying. "It's lucky that my tater tot and I hunted out all the ghosts in this place during our spring cleaning," he said, opening a cabinet. He retrieved what looked like a pair of vacuums redesigned to be worn like backpacks with an assortment of random electronics dangling from wires. He held up a set of goggles and headphones hanging off one of the vacuums. "I invented these doohickeys that'll let you see and hear ghosts! They'll let us keep in contact with Dipper while he's out of his body." He set the vacuums on a table near the miniature particle accelerator and said, "First, though—Stanford, I need you to help me rebuild this machine."

"Of course." Ford turned away from the vacuum he'd been inspecting to look at the miniature particle accelerator.

Dipper said, "Wait, there are other ghosts in this mansion?"

"Yep!"

"I hunted one at the Northwests' big party last year," Dipper said. "How many more ghosts are in here?"

"We've caught, oh... thirty or forty so far."

"Seriously? That's amazing." Dipper was already thinking about the amazing Ghost Harassers episode this place could have been. Maybe even a miniseries.

"Aw, it weren't that hard. If you leave the TV on, they like to flock around it to watch. All you've gotta do is hide in the corner until a whole big bunch of 'em are gathered 'round—and then ya get them!"

"Oh," Dipper said. "Huh. I just tricked one into getting trapped in a silver mirror."

"Well, that's right impressive too. I never woulda thunk of that," Fiddleford said. "Me and Tate have been sucking them into cooling pouches in these here vacuums and then sticking the pouches in a chest freezer down in the dungeon! Maybe I oughta line the freezer with silver."

"This place has a dungeon?" Dipper asked.

Before Fiddleford could respond, Ford asked, "Which parts are we replacing?" He was inspecting the miniature particle accelerator.

"All of them!"

Ford gave Fiddleford a surprised look. "All of them?"

"Yep! Every last one!"

"Is the design changing that much?"

"Nope! It's staying exactly the same!"

"Then... why can't we just use the same machine we already have?"

"We will be using the same machine!" Fiddleford smiled mischievously. "Or will we?"

"Ah! I see! The particle accelerator of Theseus," Ford said. "Very clever."

"And kinder on the local stray cats, I reckon."

Dipper offered his assistance, but the work involved too much welding and buzzsawing for him to try untrained, so he was directed to sit a safe distance away with the first aid kit. At least it gave him a chance to read some more. He had to shove aside a couple flashlights and the glue grenade to reach where the slim book had slid to the bottom of his backpack during their walk from the car.

He skimmed over some of the worldbuilding looking for the story before he realized the story was the wordbuilding and looped back. It was a lot bleaker than he expected, even after Mabel's warning. Rigid class system, oppressive government, all kinds of horrifying shape prejudices... Frustrating dream visits to the ignorant line people in the first dimension who didn't believe in the second dimension, and to the self-absorbed King Zero in the point-sized zeroth dimension who thought a whole universe was contained inside him... A just as frustrating visit from a sphere who simply couldn't explain the third dimension in a way the square protagonist could understand, which was even more annoying since the square had just seen how the first dimension couldn't comprehend the second for the same reasons, so why couldn't he accept the possibility of a third dimension he couldn't imagine? Dipper got that it was supposed to be a metaphor to help three-dimensional readers understand that not being able to visualize a fourth dimension didn't mean it was impossible; but still. Come on, man. Don't be stupid.

On the other hand, at least now Dipper had a framework to understand the concept of higher dimensions and probably a leg up on next year's geometry. Would high school geometry cover four-dimensional space?

After a couple of hours of work and a break for lunch, the miniature particle accelerator was rebuilt and ready for another attempt to generate fuel. Fiddleford pulled on one of his ghost vacuums like a backpack, put on the set of connected headphones and goggles, and settled his glasses on over the goggles. "Y'all ready?"

"Ready," Ford said. He was seated at the accelerator's monitors, holding the jug that would contain any NowUSeeitNowUDontium they generated, and wearing the other vacuum—with the goggles over his glasses, and he was a bit worried about how Fiddleford had positioned his.

"Ready," Dipper said, a tad less certainly. What if he couldn't do it today? What if he'd never actually been able to do it last night and the whole thing really had been a dream?

But Fiddleford flipped the accelerator's power on, stepped back, and said, "All right! Do your thing!"

"Okay." Dipper stared straight at the machine, and—eugh—thought about degloving his body from his soul, peeling out of his skin fingers first.

This was only the second time he'd left his body deliberately. He'd observed in the past that the mindscape was strangely gray and still compared to the real world—but he'd never realized just how stark and swift the change was, like all the color and warmth had been abruptly sucked from reality. He shivered.

Ford inhaled sharply. Fiddleford stumbled back against the nearest table and yelped, "Flipping flapjacks!"

"You can both still see me?" Dipper said. "Can you hear me, too?"

"Loud and clear," Ford said.

"Like the voices of the dead." Fiddleford shuddered. "Welp, let's get this over with. I don't like all this ghost business. It ain't natural."

Ford gave him an amused look. "Since when have you ever been concerned about what's 'natural'? Didn't the engineering club vote you 'most likely to build a robot that flies in the face of God'?"

"You hush! There's nothing unnatural about iron, electromagnetism, and flamethrowers."

Dipper studied his body's face, its eyes pointed blankly toward the particle accelerator. "Well, I'm looking at the experiment, but I'm definitely not thinking about it. I think that's half of the paradox?"

"That's right," Fiddleford said. "Now, you just—float yerself on over to the other side of the accelerator, and think about it without looking at it."

"Right." Dipper positioned himself directly across the accelerator from his body, shut his eyes, and tried to think experimental thoughts. He didn't know much about Dontium besides what Ford had written about it in Journal 3—that it was inert when you were looking at it and radioactive when you weren't—so, if the miniature particle accelerator generated any, would he get blasted with radiation? Or was his body staring at the accelerator enough to keep it inert? But no—it was supposed to fill up the jug Ford was holding, right? Ford was observing it. Dipper tried to imagine what must be happening inside the accelerator; how did it work, would particles spontaneously generate in the tubes? Maybe they circled around until they fell into the hose to the jug...

He heard Ford gasp. "Fiddleford, look at this— Don't listen to me Dipper, just keep—keep thinking whatever you were thinking!"

"Is it working?"

"It was! Don't let us distract you."

Dipper tried to ignore the sound of Fiddleford running over to Ford, and started humming to drown out their hushed conversation. That was good, right? It meant the experiment was working. Keep thinking about that—experiment. Experiment. Expeeeriment. ... He wondered if trying to do the experiment by putting himself and Tyrone on either side of the accelerator would have worked, or if it had to be Dipper's soul and his body—

"Hot diggety!" Fiddleford shouted. "We've reached critical mass!"

"What does that mean, is it bad?" Dipper opened one eye a crack, trying to squint enough that he couldn't see the particle accelerator. "Is it gonna explode?"

Ford explained, "It means we've generated enough Dontium that it can sustain its own existence. Now, even if you get distracted, what we've already generated will remain. It can only go up from here."

"Wow," Dipper said. "That only took, what, a couple of minutes?"

"Less than that! During our last attempt, we tried for hours without reaching critical mass," Ford said. "Your idea was right on the money. Excellent work, Dipper."

Dipper grinned. After all that anxiety, it was almost a letdown how easy it was, but the coolness factor made up for it. He could just imagine the conversations the first week of high school: What did I do over summer break? Oh, nothing much. Just synthesized a new element. To fuel a weapon custom-designed to kill an immortal chaos god. And did I mention I was a ghost at the time? It didn't quite top last summer's adventures, but...

Then something went wrong.

There was a noise halfway between the electric buzz of a tesla coil and the rip of Velcro being torn apart. A stench like burning hair filled the air. A line of shifting colorful light began worming its way out of the center of the particle accelerator and up into the air.

"Oh no. Ohhh no!" Fiddleford grabbed his head. "The micro-rips! The threadbare fabric of reality! Our experiment put too much of a strain on it! We tore straight through!" One foot bounced agitatedly, "Ohhh, I knew I shoulda run some calculations before substituting in Dipper for you and Stanley."

Dipper gasped as the line of light began to agonizingly stretch open wider. Reality began seeping over its edges and dripping through into the kaleidoscopic miasma beyond. It developed a second horizontal rip across its middle as reality stretched beyond endurance in multiple directions. "What—is that?" He was afraid he knew.

"A dimensional rift," Fiddleford said.

"The Nightmare Realm," said Ford.

The last frayed thread holding reality together snapped apart, and the rift tore open wide, fully exposing the Earth to the roaring roiling chaos beyond. 

They screamed.

"Hello?" A giant set of dentures with stubby arms and legs leaned through the rift. "Oh hey! Aren't you the guys that killed Bill?"

They screamed again.

"Is screaming how humans say hi?" the monster asked. "I'm Teeth. Aaah!" He turned toward Ford. "Hey! Fingers! Lookin' less electrocuted than the last time I saw you—"

Ford socked Teeth in the incisor, knocking him back through the rift. "Back, you! You and your 'friends' are not welcome in this dimension!"

"Ow. What the heck, man."

Fiddleford shouted, "Don't stop observing the Dontium!" He bounded across the room on all four to scoop up the milk jug and stare at it. 

Ford nearly toppled through the rift, and had to grab onto the miniature particle accelerator as the heaviest nearby object to anchor himself. The rift sucked on reality like a vacuum, and the longer it was open the more powerful it grew.

Over the roar of the rift, Dipper yelled "What do we do?!"

"We have to seal it! Before it sucks all of Gravity Falls into the Nightmare Realm!"

"How?!"

Last summer, the instant Bill had no longer been around to maintain the dimensional rift, it had also sucked reality into it, starting with everything that properly belonged in the Nightmare Realm; but then it had also quickly sealed itself back shut. On the other hand, this rift was just opening wider and wider. Maybe it wasn't like the rift Bill had used to enter Gravity Falls, then? Maybe it was structured more like the wormholes that had been left behind after Weirdmageddon—

"I've got it!" Ford picked up Dipper's body—trying not to shudder at how lifeless it felt—and unzipped his backpack. "Is the alien adhesive grenade still in here?"

"It should be! Let me see." Dipper floated over to peer into his backpack.

The rift was already strong enough to drag at Ford's clothing. The lightest objects in the room lifted into the air and were sucked through. Papers. Pencils. Coffee mugs. Dipper's soul.

He screamed. "GRUNKLE FORD!"

"Dipper!" Ford grabbed for Dipper's ankle, but his hand passed right through. Ford's blood ran cold as Dipper tumbled head over heels into the Nightmare Realm.

"Look at that," Teeth said, watching Dipper soar by. "Dinner delivery."

There was no difference between the mindscape and reality in the Nightmare Realm, if Ford followed Dipper  through he'd be able to get a grip on Dipper there. But how would he carry Dipper back to Earth without him melting through Ford's grasp the moment they were through the rift? Didn't matter, grab Dipper first, then figure it out—

Fiddleford shoved the jug of Dontium in Ford's hands as he ran past. "Watch over this!"

"What—!"

Fiddleford jumped into the Nightmare Realm, the end of a long extension cord tied around his waist. He stretched out the hose of his ghost vacuum and flipped a switch, and with a yelp Dipper's soul was sucked inside. Ford gasped in relief.

Trying to keep as much of his attention on the potentially-radioactive jug as possible, Ford reeled Fiddleford back in, shoved the jug in his hands, and dug into Dipper's backpack again until he found the alien adhesive grenade. He pulled the pin and chucked it through the rift. "Duck!"

He shielded Dipper's body and Fiddleford shielded the Dontium jug as the grenade exploded. Even so, the force of it blew aside everything within ten feet of the rift and sent both of them sprawling. When Ford glanced back over his shoulder, the adhesive had gummed up the opening of the rift like a popped glowing magenta bubblegum bubble; and as he watched, it sucked the opening shut. In a few seconds the air was still and quiet, and the only sign the rift had ever existed was an immense, jagged vertical line in the air around which the light refracted wrong.

Fiddleford gingerly got back to his knees, then pulled off his glasses and pushed up his goggles. One of the lenses had been crushed, and the glasses' frame was bent beyond repair.

Ford heaved a long, heavy sigh. "A bit too familiar, wasn't it?"

Fiddleford blinked at him. "Wasn't what?"

"The—reeling you in from the Nightmare Realm?" Ford said. At Fiddleford's blank look, Ford said, "The portal test?"

"Oh." Fiddleford scratched his head. "I... still don't remember it too clearly."

"Ah. Yes. Of course." Ford's stomach churned with guilt as he looked away from Fiddleford. Over thirty years late was too late to apologize, wasn't it? (Over the past year he'd wondered, again and again; and again and again he'd decided that it was.) "Thank you for saving—" He gasped, "Dipper!"

"Oh, right!" Fiddleford took off his vacuum, dropped it on the floor, and unzipped its bag. The ghosts of a Northwest in a buckskin coat and a confused-looking hippie escaped into the air. "Hey," Fiddleford barked. "You get back here!" He raised the vacuum's hose and flipped its switch. He caught the hippie, but as soon as she was sucked in she flew out the unzipped bag and off to freedom again. Fiddleford lowered the hose and shook a fist at the retreating spirits. "I'll get you ectoplasmic varmints, just you wait!"

Ford knelt on the floor and held the bag open wider. Dipper floated out, arms crossed tight and shivering. "So... so cold... and dark... and really, really dusty."

"Let's get you back where you belong."

Ford held up Dipper's body as he lay back down in it. He could see the moment color flooded back into Dipper's cheeks and his eyes focused again. Dipper groaned.

Ford said, "You're never doing that again."

"I am never doing that again," Dipper said.

"We can't do that again," Fiddleford said. "The fabric of reality in this town is too unstable to handle another paradoxical physics experiment that powerful! We'd rip open another rift to the Nightmare Realm!"

"And we just tossed away all of our remaining alien adhesive," Ford sighed. It left Gravity Falls vulnerable if any more rips formed. Sometime soon he'd have to go back to the alien crash site and see if there was any more adhesive he could scrounge up; but even if he did, they couldn't risk wasting more of it like this.

"But did we get what we needed?" Dipper asked.

Fiddleford held up the milk jug of Dontium and shook it. It had a strange shifting color, wavering between cyan and orange depending on the lighting. "Looks like we got about three-fourths of a gallon," Fiddleford said.

"It's only enough to fully power one shot," Ford said. "But... one shot is all it'll take to destroy Bill." His stomach flipped nervously as he said it. He'd been anxious every other time he'd prepared to kill Bill, but that had always been because he'd been preparing to battle for the fate of the universe with a godlike monster who could easily kill him or worse. For the first time, he was preparing to execute a defenseless prisoner, and he didn't know whether it would make the universe any safer.

For half the summer he'd hoped Bill was harmless. Now he wished he had proof that Bill wasn't, so that he could lay his conscience to rest.

Dipper looked as uncomfortable as Ford felt; but when he caught Ford's gaze, he hardened his expression and nodded. Ford nodded back.

"WOOHOO!" Fiddleford leaped his full height straight up, making Ford and Dipper start. "We done it! YAHOO!" He waved his hat around ecstatically, doing a little jig in place. "YIPPEE! HIP HIP HURRrr—hey, how come you fellers ain't celebrating?"

Ford didn't know how to explain without making Fiddleford worry he was at risk of falling under Bill's spell again. "We'll celebrate when he's dead."

####

"Who was at the door?" 8 Ball shouted. When he didn't get a response, he paused his game. "Teeth?"

Teeth waddled into the game room. His face was completely plastered shut with some kind of glowing purple glue.

Pyronica cracked up and Paci-Fire chuckled darkly. 8 Ball sighed, "What'd you get into, you idiot?"

Teeth waved his hands emphatically.

"All right, okay." 8 Ball stood and stretched. "Does anyone have the number of that lamp guy Bill used to hook up with?"

Half an hour later, having lured over Lava Lamp Guy with the false promise of ping pong pool and illicit liquids, they cornered him in a bathroom, with Zanthar sitting in the tub restraining him while Paci-Fire struggled to hold his face still.

"Please!" Lava Lamp Guy screamed. "Let me go! I'll do anything you want! My neurologist said I can't take much more of this!"

"Cease your complaints," Paci-Fire said, as 8 Ball took off Lava Lamp Guy's bowler. "You shall not dissuade us. We do this because we have no choice in the matter."

"Why not?!"

"Because none of us feel like making the trip to a dimension with a drugstore."

8 Ball stuck a soup ladle into the open top of Lava Lamp Guy's head and fished around until he got a scoop of the red goo floating around in the thinner orange liquid. Lava Lamp Guy howled in agony. Zanthar heaved a weary sigh.

8 Ball carried the ladle over to where Teeth was sitting on the toilet lid kicking his feet. "Here you go, bud."

Teeth clapped his hands, grabbed an oversized toothbrush, and held it out for 8 Ball to pour the goop on. He scrubbed his teeth until the goop dissolved the adhesive. "Whew!" He stretched his jaw a few times, then jumped to his feet. "Thanks! I was worried I was gonna miss karaoke night." He looked in the sink mirror to scrub off the remaining scraps of adhesive.

8 Ball put Lava Lamp Guy's hat back on. Lava Lamp Guy groaned, "I think I forgot my third husband."

"You've only been married twice," Hectorgon lied.

"Oh." Confused, Lava Lamp Guy said, "Alright."

Teeth muttered, "Blech, divorce memories." He grabbed a bottle of mouthwash to clear out the taste.

"So what happened?" Kryptos asked. He was hovering in the doorway beside Pyronica.

"I'unno. I think the Dimension 46ers were messing around with their portal or something? They opened up a portal here."

"What? Uh-uh," Pyronica said. "It had to be some other dimension. We just invaded them, why would they open the portal again?"

"No no, that sounds like humans to me," Kryptos said. "If one of them pushes a button and immediately dies, the guy standing next to him will go, 'I wonder if it does that every time.' I've seen them do it."

"It was definitely them, I saw that local contractor Bill recruited for the portal who went nuts. Fingers or whoever."

8 Ball groaned. "You mean the guy that invaded the Quadrangle and tried to kill everybody?"

"Yeah. That guy. He told me I wasn't welcome on Earth and chucked a glue bomb in my face. I was like, well alright, buddy, I'm not the one who opened up a portal in your house, you could have just stayed home instead of ruining my day," Teeth said. "I didn't really say that to him. I thought it."

"So now the humans are invading us." Pyronica threw her hands in the air. "Great! This is just terrific! Bill teaches them how to make their own portals, they follow us home, and now we're about to have a pest problem that knows how to use tools! How long is it until this whole place is crawling with humans?! I'm going househunting, how many rooms should I look for? 8 Ball?"

"I'm in."

"Teeth?"

Teeth sighed, but said, "Yeah. The neighborhood's going downhill. Especially if we're gonna have a pest problem."

"Big Z?"

Zanthar gave a thumbs up.

Pyronica looked at Paci-Fire. He averted his gaze. Pyronica said, "Paci?"

Sullenly, he said, "We should ask Keyhole's opinion as well."

She laughed in disbelief. Nobody cared about Keyhole's opinion, he went with whatever everyone else went with. Appealing to Keyhole was just a delaying tactic. "Fine, sure. We'll get Keyhole's opinion."

"I'm not going," Hectorgon said, crossing his arms.

Relieved, Kryptos said, "Yeah. Me neither."

"You don't have to," Pyronica snapped. "You two and Morph can wait for Bill to come back from the dead as long as you want. But the rest of us are leaving."

Kryptos tilted toward the hall, gesturing for Hectorgon to follow him away from the others. "How long do you think we can hold this place without the outerplanars?" The Quadrangle was all that remained of Bill's turf. Without Bill's energy boosting them, none of the shapes were particularly powerful. They'd always depended upon the other Henchmaniacs to guard Bill's stronghold, the heavy-hitters like Zanthar and Pyronica. Even Bill preferred to let them fight his battles when he could; Bill's energy was much vaster, but less renewable.

Hectorgon grimaced uncertainly. "We've gotta think of something fast."

####

Dipper stared at the jug in his lap, ensuring it didn't turn radioactive before they got home. Bill practically seemed to have a radar for Ford—and on top of that, could see through walls—but as far as he cared Dipper may as well have not even existed; so they'd decided that Ford would go in the main door to ensure Bill's attention was turned away while Dipper went through the gift shop and took the elevator down to Ford's study. Ford had told Dipper where to find a lead locker that would keep the Dontium contained until Ford could use it to refuel the Quantum Destabilizer; all he had to do was put it in and stare through the crack until he'd slammed the door shut.

And once they'd decided on that, the drive home had fallen deathly silent.

As the Mystery Shack appeared through the trees, Dipper asked, "We're doing the right thing, right?" His voice was quiet. "I hate him, but—we owe him our lives. And there's that prophecy..."

"Lives can't be owed," Ford said. "Yesterday he may have saved us, but tomorrow he would still destroy our world in a heartbeat. We can be grateful to be alive—but we can't let that stop us."

"So, we're doing the right thing?"

Ford was silent for much longer than Dipper would have liked. "I hope so."

####

(We're moving toward some important stuff!! Hope y'all enjoyed and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this week's chapter!)

[just-aake]

A Feline Connection: Halloween Special

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: Natasha is getting everything ready for the Halloween event while also helping you find the right costume for her favorite feline.

A/N: This is a side story set at some time between Part 2 and 3 of the A Feline Connection series.

Warnings: fluff

Words: 4450

Natasha carefully sets down two oversized bowls brimming with candy onto one of the many rows of tables, adjusting them slightly before turning her attention to arranging an array of spooky decorations across the counter. 

Around her, eerie decorations fill the park as volunteers bustle about, setting the stage for the Halloween event—a collaboration between the Avengers and the city. 

Team members are spread out everywhere she looks, each helping prepare for the different activities. 

Natasha has taken charge of the trick-or-treat stations, aiming to make the experience fun and safe for the kids, double-checking candy supplies, and ensuring no child goes home without treats. 

As she directs volunteers to rearrange some tables to keep the pathways clear, her phone vibrates in her pocket. 

She pulls it out, her eyes softening at the picture you’ve sent. 

Widow is pouting into the camera, clearly displeased at her current state. The little black cat is decked out in a miniature Iron Man suit, complete with the iconic mask perched on her head.

“Cute,” Natasha mutters, smirking at the picture. 

Moments later, your message follows.

“What do you think about her costume for tonight?”

“Cute, but it doesn’t look like it’s her favorite,” Natasha replies, her fingers tapping a quick response.

A second picture arrives—a close-up of Widow now scratching at the Iron Man mask, a clear statement of her displeasure.

“You might be right. Guess we’ll try out some more.”

Natasha chuckles and quickly forwards the picture to the Avengers group chat. She’s about to tuck her phone away when a curious thought suddenly appears in her mind.

“Are you wearing a costume for tonight?”

Your playful response arrives seconds later.

“Maybe…wouldn’t you like to know, Miss Black Widow.”

Natasha can practically hear your teasing tone. But before she can respond, she’s interrupted by the sound of two small sets of footsteps barreling toward her. 

She looks up just as Lila and Cooper Barton crash into her, giggling as they wrap their arms around her in a tight hug. 

Natasha pretends to stumble, letting out an exaggerated groan as if their embrace had taken her down. 

“Auntie Nat!” Lila shouts, bouncing back with a wide grin, while Cooper nods energetically.

“We’re here to help!” he chimes in, both kids practically vibrating with excitement. 

Natasha eyes them with a hint of suspicion, already guessing what might be fueling their energy. 

“Sorry, we’re late,” Clint says, approaching with a stroller carrying Nathaniel, the youngest Barton. 

Natasha bends down to greet the baby, who lights up and giggles as she tickles his tummy.

“Nat, don’t rile him up!” Clint groans playfully. “I already have these two bouncing off the walls on sugar.” 

Laura steps up beside him, crossing her arms with a sigh. 

“I told you not to give them candy this early.” 

Natasha laughs, straightening up. 

“Well, in that case, this might not be the best area for them to ‘help’ with.” 

She gestures to the tables overflowing with candy, smirking.

Lila and Cooper shake their heads fervently. 

“We can help, Auntie Nat!” Lila insists. 

“Yeah! We won’t eat any more candy, promise!” Cooper echoes, though Natasha gives them both a skeptical look, fully aware of how flimsy that promise is. 

“Don’t you want to check out the other Avengers’ setups?” she suggests, raising an eyebrow. 

The kids exchange a quick look before nodding, excitement building once again. 

Natasha turns to Clint.

“Think you can handle the rest here?”

Clint waves a hand dismissively.

“Go, have fun. I’ve got this covered.” 

With that, the kids race off toward the next area, Natasha following close behind with Laura walking beside her. 

“So,” Laura begins with a knowing smile, “I hear you’re seeing someone.”

Natasha lets out an exasperated sigh. 

“Not you too,” she groans, but Laura’s amused expression softens. 

“Hey, I’m happy for you. You deserve someone good, Nat,” Laura says genuinely. 

“Thanks, but we’re just friends,” Natasha replies, though she can’t help the small smile that forms at the thought of you. 

Laura studies her face and chuckles softly.

“And you like her,” she observes with a smirk. 

Unable to stop the warm sensation in her chest at the thought of you, Natasha admits softly under her breath. 

“Maybe a little.” 

As they continue walking through the park, Laura suddenly stops, pointing toward a commotion in the distance. 

“Is that Stark…destroying the black cat balloons?” 

In the sky above, Tony’s Iron Man suit zooms around, blasting black cat balloons as Rhodey flies after him in the War Machine suit, shouting, “Tony! Stop it! We’re going to have to fly back and get replacements!” 

Natasha rolls her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. With a small, amused smile, she guides Laura and the kids in a different direction, as if it’s just another typical day with the Avengers.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

As Natasha and Laura guide the kids through the park, they pass by a small stage where Thor suddenly emerges from behind the curtains, lugging a massive armchair with ease. He drops it in the center of the stage with a loud thud, grinning with satisfaction. 

“Need any help?” Natasha asks, raising an eyebrow.

Thor waves her off proudly. 

“No, thank you, Nat, I have everything set up!” 

He gives the arm of the chair an approving pat. 

“Tonight, I shall sit upon this throne and regale the children with the most terrifying stories of Asgard, striking fear into their hearts just as this human holiday requires.” 

“I like scary stories!” Lila exclaims excitedly, her eyes widening. 

Thor nods approvingly.

“Good! These tales will make you so frightened that you may wish never to close your eyes again!” 

“Awesome,” Lila whispers in awe, her enthusiasm undeterred. 

Laura sighs, not entirely thrilled about her daughter’s taste in terrifying tales.

Meanwhile, Cooper, already unnerved, subtly tucks himself behind Natasha, tightly clutching the edge of her jacket. 

Natasha can only stare at Thor in response, momentarily speechless at his well-intentioned but misguided plan, then shakes her head vehemently. 

“No, that’s…that’s not what we’re aiming for tonight,” she says, glancing around. “Where’s Steve? We need to fix this.” 

Thor frowns, confused by the sudden concern. 

“Did I say something wrong?” 

Natasha pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation. 

“Laura, can you explain to him while I talk to Steve?”

Laura nods in understanding while holding back Lila, who is already begging Thor to share a story. 

Cooper clings close to Natasha as she heads off to find Steve. 

On her way, Natasha feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

Pulling it out, she sees you’ve sent a video this time. 

The thumbnail catches her eye immediately—the familiar colors of red, white, and blue stand out on the cat. 

Huffing in amusement, Natasha taps the screen to play it. 

The video opens with Widow’s wary meow as she glances up at you, her eyes expressing hesitance. She’s dressed in a miniature Captain America costume, complete with a small cowl and a plastic replica of the shield strapped to her back. 

Though, the shield seems slightly too big on her tiny body. 

Your voice comes through the video, soothing and coaxing. 

“Come on, Widow, it’s okay.” 

Widow shoots a disgruntled glare at the camera, hesitating before attempting to step forward. But her movements are stiff and awkward, the shield throwing off her balance. She wobbles for a moment before losing her footing and toppling onto her side. 

The video shakes as your laughter bubbles up in the background, and Natasha can’t help but grin at the sound. 

Widow stays lying there, visibly defeated, meowing her irritation. The video cuts off just as you reach to help her.

A text quickly follows: “I don’t think she likes that one either :(”

Natasha chuckles, typing back with a suggestion. 

“Maybe try something that lets her move around more easily?”

You respond with a thumbs-up emoji, and Natasha contemplates for a moment before sending another text. 

“Do I get a hint about what you're wearing?” 

After a brief pause, your response pops up.

“Mine’s extremely comfortable to move in ;)”

Natasha shakes her head, chuckling at your flirtatious reply.

“Oh, I recognize that look,” a familiar voice calls out nearby. Steve walks over, a knowing grin on his face. “What did your friend say this time?” 

Natasha rolls her eyes, slipping her phone back into her pocket. 

“Trust me, Rogers, if I told you, you’d never be able to look me in the eyes again. Still want to know?”

Steve raises his hands in surrender, laughing. 

“Forget I asked.” 

Her playful expression fades into mild frustration as she crosses her arms, remembering her original purpose for finding him. 

“Did you get a chance to preview any of Thor’s stories before you assigned him the stage for storytelling?” 

Steve furrows his brow, lifting another pumpkin out of a nearby cart. 

“No…why? Are they not good? Thor mentioned that he had a lot of them.” 

“Oh, I’m sure he’s got plenty,” Natasha says, struggling to suppress a laugh. “It’s just that Asgardian scary doesn’t quite translate to our kind of spooky. Someone might want to…filter his options.” 

Steve’s eyes widen as he finally catches on. 

“Right, I’ll talk to him after I finish up here.” 

Just then, Cooper tugs on Steve’s sleeve. 

“Can I help?”

“Of course, buddy,” Steve smiles, handing him a small pumpkin. “Just take it over to Hulk—he’s setting them up over there.” 

Cooper nods and huffs slightly as he carries the pumpkin toward Hulk, who’s busy stacking a few larger ones in designated spots.

Steve turns back to Natasha. 

“Could you check in with Wanda and Vision at the haunted trails? I sent Sam over but haven’t heard back yet.” 

“On it,” Natasha agrees, giving him a quick nod before heading in their direction. 

As she makes her way there, her phone buzzes with another message from you. 

This time, it’s a picture of Widow, now wearing a long Scarlet Witch jacket. She’s curled up, fast asleep, the oversized coat draped over her like a blanket. 

The text reads: “This one might be too comfortable.”

Natasha laughs softly, shaking her head. 

“That’s probably the best option at this point. But if not, you’d better hurry—the event’s starting soon.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there,” you respond reassuringly. 

Distracted in her texting with you, Natasha doesn’t realize that she’s already at the entrance of the haunted trails until she suddenly notices the stark change in her surroundings.  

On the side she came from, the trees were filled with green leaves, casting warm shadows in the setting sun. 

Meanwhile, from where she’s standing, the trees along the haunted trail are bare and twisted, their leafless branches reaching out like claws, and an eerie red glow seeps through the shadows, casting a haunting atmosphere over the path. 

Natasha stops for a moment, admiring Wanda’s impressive attention to detail in crafting the spooky illusion. 

The eerie quiet breaks with a sudden rustling, making Natasha tense instinctively, her senses heightened as she scans the surrounding trees. 

Bats flutter out from the branches above, and Natasha narrows her eyes, feeling like this illusion might be a little too realistic. 

Just as she’s about to call for Wanda, something suddenly swoops out of the shadows, rushing toward her. 

Reacting instantly, Natasha dodges and rolls to the ground, her Widow’s Bite gauntlets flaring up as she raises them, ready to strike. 

But the blue glow fades as she pauses, realizing it’s only a makeshift ghost—a sheet suspended on a nearly invisible line, guided by the Redwing drone hovering above it. 

Sam’s laughter fills the air as he lands beside her. 

“You should’ve seen your face, Nat,” he chuckles, barely containing his amusement.

Natasha stands up, brushing off her clothes with a deadpan expression. 

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t scared.”

Sam gives her a playful smirk.

“Come on, admit it. I got you good.”

She crosses her arms, eyebrows raised. 

“Did you hear me scream?”

“Not everyone screams when they’re scared. Some just—ah!” 

Two hands suddenly reach up from the ground, grabbing onto their ankles. 

Sam lets out a startled yell, instinctively activating his wings to lift off the ground. 

Natasha, though startled, keeps her composure, only stepping back slightly to pull herself from the hand's grip.

Above, Sam hovers in the air, wide-eyed, as Vision phases fully out of the ground.

“Vision?!” Sam exclaims, still hovering a few feet off the ground. 

Vision regards them with a calm nod, looking somewhat puzzled. 

“My apologies. Wanda suggested that this would be amusing. Was my approach incorrect?”

Wanda emerges from behind a nearby tree, laughing as she pats Vision on the shoulder. 

“No, Vis, you did great.” 

“Wrong,” Sam protests. “That was totally wrong!”

Natasha smirks, crossing her arms as she looks up at him. 

“It’s no different than what you tried to pull. So are you going to come down, or are you too scared?” 

Feigning indifference, Sam pretends to check his wrist communicator. 

“Looks like Cap’s calling me. I’ll catch you all later.”

Natasha huffs, amused, and shakes her head as he disappears before turning back to Wanda and Vision. 

“Great work on the setup over here,” she says, genuinely impressed. 

Wanda beams at the compliment. 

“Thank you,” she says before a mischievous glint appears in her eyes. “You know, this trail would be even more fun with someone special to walk through it with.” 

Natasha narrows her eyes slightly in suspicion.

“And what are you trying to say?” 

“I believe Wanda means that shared experiences under high-pressure situations like this can often lead to stronger bonds, especially if one wishes to develop a closer connection with such a person,” Vision says with his usual thoughtful tone. 

“Yeah, what he said,” Wanda agrees with a smirk. 

Natasha just rolls her eyes. 

“I don’t think she scares easily,” Natasha says, thinking about you and suppressing a small smile. 

Wanda’s face lights up.

“So you are thinking about asking her?” 

Natasha chooses not to respond, giving Wanda a warning look before giving them both a quick wave. 

“I’m going to check on the other preparations.” 

As she walks through the Halloween-themed carnival booths, dusk has fully settled over the park, casting everything in a warm glow. 

Strings of lights and glowing balloons hang high above, illuminating each station and path. 

Her phone buzzes again, and she glances down to see another message from you.

“On our way. Too late for a photo shoot though. Guess you have to wait to see us both in person.” 

Natasha smirks, amused at your teasing. Before she can type a response, a figure suddenly swings down from the large spider web decoration spanning the booths. 

“Hi, hey, Miss Romanoff!” Spider-Man greets, waving with enthusiasm. “Is it okay if I take off early?” 

Natasha tilts her head curiously at the young Avenger. 

“Going trick-or-treating?” 

Spider-Man freezes. 

“What? No! I’m…” he clears his throat, deepening his voice in an attempt to sound more mature. “I’m not a kid.” 

She raises an eyebrow, smirking in amusement.

Spider-Man sighs, giving in as he fidgets nervously. 

“Okay, there’s this girl, MJ. I invited her, and it’s, um, it’s just going to be us instead of the whole group. So I just wanted it to be perfect.”

Natasha chuckles softly at his rambling. 

“It’s fine, Peter. You don’t need to explain everything. You can go. We’re nearly done here anyway.” 

“Awesome, thank you!” he exclaims, turning to swing away, but he pauses, looking back at her. “Oh, and, uh…Mr. Stark said to ask if you’re bringing your—”

Natasha raises a hand, cutting him off. 

“If you keep calling her my ‘crush,’ I’ll assign you to extra security training for the next month.”

Spider-Man immediately covers his mouth, nodding before shooting a web to swing away. 

“Sorry! I’m gonna go get ready, then!”

Natasha watches him disappear, a smirk lingering on her face as she checks her phone again. She types a quick reply to your message. 

“I’ll be at the trick-or-treat stations if you have time to drop by.” 

When your response comes through with a heart emoji, Natasha feels a warmth in her chest that she doesn’t even try to hide, a genuine smile spreading across her face as she pockets her phone and heads toward the trick-or-treat stations, ready to greet you.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

The park is alive with laughter and excitement as attendees in colorful costumes move from booth to booth, soaking up the Halloween festivities. 

Natasha finds herself genuinely smiling and enjoying herself as yet another child in a miniature Black Widow costume steps up to her table. 

With an enthusiastic "Trick or treat!" they hold out their basket. 

Natasha hands over a generous scoop of candy, and the kid thanks her with a beaming smile before mimicking her signature move, extending their tiny arm as if launching a Widow Bite. 

Natasha grins and joins in, making a mock "pew" sound, then bumps fists with the little fan. 

The child squeals in delight, racing back to their parents to show off the interaction, and Natasha watches them go with a warm smile. 

Her attention shifts as she notices the next person approaching her table. She turns, ready to greet them, but her words falter as her eyes meet yours. 

Standing before her, you’re dressed in a sleek black velvet ensemble that hugs your figure perfectly. A delicate choker with a small gold charm glimmers at your neck, catching the glow of the park’s lights. Long, satin gloves reach up to your elbows, and a pair of elegant cat ears sit atop your head. 

The subtle smokiness around your eyes and a sharp, alluring cat-eye flick draw her attention to your gaze, while a delicate black nose and faint whiskers complete the look with just the right touch of playfulness.

Caught off guard, Natasha’s breath catches slightly as her eyes take in every detail. Finally, she composes herself enough for a smile to break through as she remarks, “Nice costume. Did Widow put you up to it?” 

You chuckle, and the sound sends a warmth through her. 

“After what I put her through today, I figured it was only fair.” 

Just then, as if on cue, Widow makes an entrance, leaping gracefully onto the table from the shadows. 

Natasha’s smirk widens as she notices the cat’s costume. 

Widow prowls across the table, dressed in a tiny but impressively tailored Black Widow suit. The sleek material hugs her, complete with tiny red accents and a miniature tactical belt with the iconic red hourglass emblem.

Her back paws are fitted with faux combat boots, giving her a serious “spy” aura, but it’s her front legs that steal the show: delicate little cuffs designed to resemble Natasha’s Widow Bite gauntlets, emitting a soft blue glow with each step. 

The tiny LED lights pulse in sync with her paw steps, illuminating Widow’s fur and adding an extra edge to her strut, looking every bit as fierce as her human counterpart. 

The cat pauses in front of Natasha, lifting one paw in a poised gesture and looking at Natasha expectantly. 

Natasha laughs softly, echoing her earlier gesture with the small explosion sound. 

Widow meows in approval before nudging her hand, purring contentedly as Natasha gives her an affectionate scratch. 

“She really likes you,” you say gently, drawing Natasha’s attention back to you. 

Natasha looks up, a playful glint in her eyes. 

“Well, I am pretty amazing,” she teases, earning a light eye roll from you.

You both share a smile, letting the sounds of the crowd fade around you as you hold each other’s gaze. 

“Kitty!” Lila’s excited voice breaks the moment as she runs up to Natasha’s side, her eyes fixed on Widow with delight. 

Widow, clearly unamused by the child’s excited, grabby hands, meows a questioning protest, glancing at you and Natasha for guidance.

“Lila, remember to ask before you pet,” Laura gently reminds her, catching up. She gives you an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that! I’m Laura, by the way—I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Raising an eyebrow, you give Natasha an amused look.

“Have you now?”

Natasha’s quick to shake her head in denial. 

“That’s not true,” she insists, but you only raise your eyebrows, your smile teasing.

“I don’t think that response is any better.” 

Natasha feels a rare flustered moment but quickly regains her composure, crossing her arms.

“It’s not…I just didn’t mean it like that.” 

You bite your lip, suppressing a smirk, and Natasha rolls her eyes in mock annoyance.

Meanwhile, Lila sidles closer, her eyes wide as she looks up at you. 

“Can I pet your cat?”

You smile and nod, calling Widow over with gentle strokes before guiding Lila’s hand onto her fur. The little girl giggles with delight as she pets Widow, who purrs softly, enjoying the attention.

Natasha watches, smiling warmly at the scene, but when she glances up, Laura is giving her a pointed look.

With a subtle thumbs-up and a nod toward you, Laura’s approval is clear. 

Natasha furrows her brows in a silent warning, which only prompts Laura to smirk mischievously. 

Before Natasha can fully comprehend her friend’s intentions, Laura turns to you with a friendly suggestion. 

“Have you checked out the haunted trails yet?” 

You shake your head, glancing curiously toward the spooky path lined with twisted, bare trees in the distance. 

“Not yet. I haven’t had a chance to.”  

“Perfect! Natasha hasn’t either, and she’s been hoping to find someone to go with her,” Laura says with a sly smile.

Natasha’s head snaps to Laura, caught off guard. 

“What? No, I never—” she begins, but Lila interjects. 

“It’s true! I offered to go with Auntie Nat, but she said she’d still be too scared with just the two of us.” 

Natasha stifles a groan, quickly covering Lila’s mouth with her hand and guiding her away from you. 

“Alright, who taught you to lie like that?”

You laugh lightly, raising your brows at Natasha, who’s now thoroughly exasperated. Widow hops into your arms, settling comfortably as she observes the interaction. 

“Well, maybe with two Black Widows, it won’t be as scary,” you suggest, smiling as Widow snuggles against you.

Without missing a beat, Laura nudges Natasha out from behind the table. 

“Great idea! Go on, Nat. I can handle things here.”

Natasha glances back at her friend, her narrowed eyes silently communicating the words she doesn’t say, but Laura only grins, waving her off.

Resigned, Natasha sighs, glancing back at you. 

“Alright then. Shall we?” she says, gesturing toward the haunted trails.

You smile, adjusting Widow in your arms.

“Lead the way.”

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

Natasha was right: fear seemed to be the last thing on your mind as the two of you strolled through the haunted trail. 

Your hands rest casually behind your back, your eyes sweeping over the creepy details Wanda had woven into the path. 

Shadows dance in the dim lighting, and eerie props loom from hidden corners, but you only seem intrigued, your calm composure contrasting the atmosphere. 

Widow, however, was another story. 

After a particularly loud, sudden ghostly screech from a hidden speaker, followed by the whoosh of a flying ghost, she yelps and darts back to the two of you, beelining for Natasha. 

In a flash, she scrambles up Natasha’s side until Natasha steadies her in her arms. 

Tucking herself tightly against Natasha’s chest, Widow let out a small, tremulous meow, seeking comfort from the ordeal. 

With a gentle smile, Natasha rubs her hand along the cat’s back, soothing her. 

You tilt your head, feigning mild offense. 

“Should I be insulted that she ran to you instead of me?” 

“Maybe I’m just more cuddly,” Natasha teases, shooting you a smirk. 

You chuckle, letting the joke hang in the air before a softer look crosses your face. 

“Thank you for inviting us. I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I am.” 

You reach out, lightly resting a hand on her shoulder while leaning closer to give Widow a few reassuring pets.

Natasha finds herself stunned at the warmth of your touch and how close you were to her, watching how your expression softens as you look at Widow. 

When you glance up, meeting her eyes, a silence settles between you, almost charged, as if the ghostly ambiance had taken a back seat to the quiet, familiar energy building between you.

But then, your eyes flick just past her, widening in surprise.

You pull back abruptly, stumbling slightly as your hand slips from her shoulder. 

Natasha’s instincts kick in, and she turns quickly to see what had spooked you, catching only a flash of something metallic disappearing into the shadows. 

Widow stiffens in her arms, her fur fluffing out as she lets out a low, wary growl toward the direction of the shadow.

Concerned, Natasha turns back to you. 

“You okay?” she asks, her gaze searching yours. 

You give her a quick nod and a small, reassuring smile. 

“Yeah. Guess I got scared after all,” you say with a little laugh, clearly brushing off the moment. “Let’s get out of here.” 

Widow gives a soft meow in agreement, clearly done with the haunted trail.

As the three of you reach the trail’s end, you call to Widow, who hops back into your arms. 

Natasha slips her hands into her jacket pockets, glancing back toward the trail’s dark path with a hint of curiosity.

The strange, unknown thing in the shadow and the way Widow had reacted—left her with a faint sense of unease. 

But then your voice pulls her focus back to you.

“Thanks again. We had fun,” you say, offering her a small, genuine smile. “But you probably need to return to your post with the trick-or-treaters.” 

Natasha hesitates, caught between a responsible response and a lingering desire to keep talking to you. 

“I…I had fun, too,” she replies, her voice softer. 

“We’re probably heading out for the night,” you add, shifting Widow into a comfortable spot in your arms.

“Oh.” Natasha tries to mask her disappointment with a casual smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to check out any of the other booths?” 

But instead of answering, you give her a playful smile, your eyes gleaming with a touch of mystery. 

“Happy Halloween, Miss Black Widow.” 

And with that teasing smirk, you turn, disappearing into the crowd.

Natasha lingers for a moment, watching you go, a hint of a smile still on her face before heading back to her station. 

Not noticing that somewhere in the shadows behind her, a faint glint of gold reappears before vanishing just as quickly.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

a/n: Happy Halloween to everyone! Just wanted to add some fluff into the series for the holiday and before the main story continues because turns out I was wrong…it seems that this series will not be going in the light-hearted direction of small misadventures like originally planned 😬. Essentially, we will now have some sort of plot (with the new hinted character) so be sure to read the warnings in the next chapter before deciding if you want to continue. thanks again for reading!

If you asked to be tagged and I missed it, please let me know again.

Taglist : @cd-4848, @carifletchersgirl, @skittlebum, @queen-of-chaotic-surprises, @ima-gi--na-tion, @rainix13, @gay4hotmilfs, @imaginexred, @caramelcat123, @2silverchain, @nowthisisliving27, @waltermis, @scarlettbitchx, @self-indulgent-writer, @ashadash0904, @alowint, @littlyamadeus, @so-to-aqui-pelas-fic, @imthenatynat, @transparentflapfarmsludge, @natashasilverfox, @mousetheorist, @btay3115, @samfunko, @wandaromamoff69, @ahsatanizgay, @lost-in-the-ice, @stonemags, @karsonromanoff, @wandanatlov3r, @l1kepeps1cvla, @esposadejoyhuerta

[tainted-liquor]

☆‧₊˚Cat N' Spider ⋆.˚[1.7.24]- e42!Miles x Reader 🕸˖°.TWs || Miles is lowkey a pottymouthhh

What makes a villain? Is it their frigid, pompous attitude tailored to mask that sentimental wound from past trauma? Or is it the narcissistic qualities that wash away the blood of the innocent from their fleeting, voided sense of memory? No matter the man or lady behind the mask, they all unite under one common umbrella- shielding themselves from the icy rainwater that forces them to heed the treacherous callback from the rain…

A desperate covet to be acknowledged…no…remembered.

Villains aren’t born; they’re created. There was no such thing as “good” or “bad”, there was survival, and there were morals. And when you were only thirteen, you became the victim of a team of scientists determined to create a “better” world for you and the Brooklyn, New York population. So emerged Plan 42-J, where a spider was sucked up from your world and engineered on another.

And when that spider found itself back in your world, guess whose teeth it found refuge in?

Little old you!

“Yeah…I’ll be there at like seven. You want somethin’ from the store?” Your boyfriend, Miles grunted, his scarred and sculpted shoulder blades facing the camera as he made himself look presentable in his bathroom mirror. “Uhhh, you don’t have to…Actually, wait, get me a pineapple Fanta and some chips,” you muttered, tugging on your pretty little red Converse with as much force as physically possible. 

“Bet–...I might be a little late actually,” Miles sighed, turning around to face the camera and picking up his phone as he began to tap away at the miniature keyboard. Your face pulled into a deep frown, jet black brows furrowing as you pulled your face up from the invisible string connecting you and your shoelaces. “Miles, come on now…this is like the hundredth time you were late to shit we planned!” You grunted, rolling your eyes in slight sorrow and annoyance.

“I know, I know. I’ll try to wrap this shit up as fast as possible, I’m sorry mama” he sighed, running an exasperated hand across his face. “It’s just thirty minutes, ok?” He reassured, his gentle and wispy eyelashes batting softly as he toyed with the gifted gold-clad locket that nestled perfectly between his collarbones. You sighed, pressing the end-call button before falling backward on your couch, sinking into the comfy beige cotton and sighing deeply.

It wasn’t even 20 minutes before you were prompted to spring up from your couch, turning on the TV to monitor whatever was happening in Brooklyn today. Crime rates are dropping, cities are being rebuilt, and smiles are all around. A sense of gratitude washed over you– you weren’t too fond of being Spider-Girl ever since you found out about HQ, but it made ‘fixing’ your world much more satisfying.

But alas, good things don’t last forever. The news reporters' eyes widened as they cupped their ears with what looked like shock and fear, cutting themselves off mid-script to announce a new threat down Kings Plaza. “Oh hold on– give me just a second, Brent, but we’re just now receiving word that the infamous ‘Prowler’ has been spotted down at the abandoned Kings Plaza shopping outlet. Witnesses say he was seen breaking through the window of the old building, presumably chasing after a taller man.”

You groaned loudly, throwing two unfortunate pillows off the couch as you stomped back upstairs to throw on your crimson and white Spider-Suit. “Stupid fucking prowler…ruining my fuckin’ date night,” you grumbled, angrily pulling the mask over your face before calling out to your mom.  “Hey, mom? I’m gonna make a store run before Miles gets here! I'm gonna grab ingredients for cookies!” You shouted, quickly opening and closing the door so it’d seem like you left the house.

You slipped out the back window, climbing your way up the fire escape before swinging through the night, wind cascading across your masked face, taking deep gulps of air through your nostrils. Your blood boiled like overboiled soup stock, salt and muck bubbling to the surface as you grumbled under your breath. That stupid fuck ass had a habit of somehow ruining your quality time with your boyfriend, postponing dates and meetups in a futile attempt to put away your irksome ‘nemesis.’

You’ve had a couple of encounters with the Prowler, with him being the most determined villain since the ‘Rise of Spider-Girl’. Of all the many villains you’d put away, he seemed the most persistent in riding his wave of crime to fruition. The air, filled with its normal hubbub, voices clamoring together as car engines blended to create the everyday atmosphere of Brooklyn.

You dipped down in between the abandoned subway, scanning the topography of the old station before hearing an uncomfortably loud–

BANG! 

You got up on your feet, quickly scanning the areas as you attempted to squint through the thick veil of darkness that covered your eyes. The soft, meshy fabric of your red and white spider mask made everything increasingly more difficult as you attempted to analyze every small detail of your location. Blurry pipes, massive trash bags, debris, and a run-down train that had been claimed by rust and nature.

You walked down the wide tunnel, clicking on the flashlight that you had attached to your tactical belt a couple of months ago. You smiled to yourself, glad that one of the many trinkets you’d created since becoming Spider-Girl was proving to be useful. It was freezing, your jaw clenching as you lumbered forward, running your gloved fingertips across the rusty metal walls.

“Yo! Come on, man. I know you’re down here somewhere, and I don’t wanna be in this cold-ass tunnel!” You shouted, not even sure if you were actually talking to anyone else. “I mean, hero to…villain? Anti-Hero? I’m sure you’ve got people to get home to. And I’d hate to send your busted ass home to your wife and kids with new bruises,” You threatened, voice low and serious as you began to do another routine scan around your new surroundings. 

“My wife is none of your business,” A stern and rather agitated voice spoke from the far distance, causing you to whip your head around and assume a battle stance. You sucked in a large breath of air, lungs expanding and burning with each passing second as you ran forward at half your usual speed. “And I’m not going home with shit. From you.” He enunciated, the static overlay coating his voice like molten lava and burnt sugar.

“Man, wrap this up! All of the other villains are putting their shit away, why can’t you! Have you ever considered a job?” You spat, stopping mere inches away from the source of the loathsome voice before squinting up at the Prowler. “You’re the most desperate bitch I’ve ever fought with, you know that? I’ve never felt the need to prove something this bad,” You spat, growing more and more agitated by the second. 

“You funny as shit for real. Now If Ian have no human decency, I’d have been sent yo lil’ass to the hospital but ion put my hands on women cuz my daddy raised me betta’ than that. So we can do it like this– you can get the fuck out of my face and I can keep my hands to myself, or I can show all of Brooklyn how you nothin’ but a lil girl playing pretend in tight spandex,” He grunted, dropping down from the tall ceiling and hitting the ground with a sickeningly heavy thud.

His mask illuminated about 6 inches in front of him with bright purple, advancing towards you slowly as he invaded your personal space. You were sure that had he not worn his signature holographic mask, you would’ve felt his breath ghost the tip of your nose. He was so close you could lift a finger and make immediate contact with his chest.

“You piss me the fuck off.” You grunted, staring back at the monster in front of you as you let the thick, discomforting silence fill the lack of space between the two of you. He was menacing, it made you wanna get as far away from him as possible and go home to your kind, and loving boyfriend. But a job’s a job, no matter how intimidating the ‘client’.

“And you give me a fuckin’ headache. ¿Lo sabes, verdad?” He rasped, quickly landing a sharp blow straight to your gut as he sent you flying backward almost one foot. It hurt like hell, your stomach suddenly felt tight and uncomfortably empty as you struggled to regain control over your breathing. “Mira, me estás haciendo sentir mal. You think I wanna hit you?” he muttered, slowly backing away from you before taking off in the opposite direction.

What a fucking dickhead.

You swallowed the bile that threatened to erupt from your gullet, regaining your footing and taking off after the arrogant man once more. You focused on your breathing, drawing long and stable breaths that you allowed to ease the pain that plagued your gut. The wind whistled around your ears as you charged forward, gentle howls and soft rustles caressing your ears with each step.

You followed the harsh neon purple lighting, giggling slightly at how obvious was when you actually got up close to the guy and were able to see his mask. Your footsteps echoed across the tunnel, the heavy thuds mingling with your dull pitter-pattering as you managed to catch up to the unknown man, tackling him from behind as you made a futile attempt to pin him to the ground. And for a second it felt as though he had relaxed into your hold, his usual tense and guarded posture faltering for only a fraction of a second before you felt a painful grip on your wrist.

You went flying forward, narrowly avoiding landing on your neck as you scrambled to land on your feet. Throughout this entire confrontation, your spider-sense seemed to fail you time and time again to warn you of your opponent's attacks, making it increasingly harder to dodge any sort of blow he would deliver. Your right cheek, neck, shoulders, and gut all ached with pain as you struggled to memorize his attack pattern. 

He was unpredictable; switching his style of fighting with every new punch while you went through trial and error of pattern memorization. There were claw marks in your suit near your sides that revealed your skin as you finally found a solid fighting technique against the taller man. You finally found your perfect balance, landing disgustingly heavy blows to any part of him that you could reach.

He was lean. He may be built like a twig on the surface, but his entire body was fortified by nothing but pure muscle mass. He felt nearly hard to the touch as you threw your body weight into every strike. “You’re solid. You could put your…odd level of strength to much better use, c’monnnn,” you half-whined, groaning as you resorted to low blows and a style that consisted of legwork.

The white slits on his holographic mask narrowed, indicating his clear disgust as he jumped over your smaller form. “I have things to do. You’re in my way, little bug…” He spat, making a break for the surface as he ran onto the platform and seemingly glided up the stairs. Fuck, how annoying can someone get? He was faster than a bullet train and had incredible levels of stamina.

He was everything you needed in battle. Each time you found yourselves tangled in each other's path, there was an unexplainable tension that stuck each of you together with a bond stronger than any glue. Not to mention the way he managed to evade every single sense that spider had given you; almost like he wasn’t a threat.

You watched him dart up the block, getting ahead start on a taller building as he dug his claws into the sturdy brick. He climbed like a hungry panther chasing their next meal, starving for some sort of adrenaline as you followed closely behind him. The moon illuminated his figure in a ghostly white hue, highlighting the scratched metal of his suit components.

The frigid air left gentle kisses across your clothed limbs, provoking goosebumps as you pulled yourself up on the rough, concrete roof of some random building. You looked at the man, who rested an annoyed hand on his wounded shoulder as his mask mimicked an eye roll. “No quiero lastimarte. Pero, tengo una esposa en casa,” He grunted before quickly advancing towards you with pure anger.

Suddenly, as if they couldn't be late enough, that familiar tingle ran down your spine as you saw his next move in real-time before it happened. You grabbed his left wrist, which began to outstretch in your direction, and forced pressure onto his trigger point. He released a pained groan before you lunged forward, sending the two of you tumbling forward as something fell out of the collar of the neckline of his shirt.

The white eyes widened as a pretty little gold-clad heart locket dangled around his neck, spinning wildly before settling on his chest without so much as a sound. His eyes widened, kicking you off of him before tucking the locket back in his shirt with a relieved sigh and a silent prayer. “Weird. I gave that same locket to my boyfriend,” You muttered.

There was a low chuckle that sounded more annoyed rather than amused before he shuffled back to his feet and stood underneath the pale moonlight. “My wife gave this to me. Touch it, and i’ll fuckin’ kill you this time” he enunciated, a narrow squint to add insult to his words. “Anniversary gift. I hope you not trynna get personal, cuz I’m still gon whoop your ass”

The gears started turning in your brain as you stopped, your posture relaxing as your closed fist came to a rest on your upper left hip. “June 2nd?” You asked, eyes widening a fraction as you slowly backed away from…the boy? In front of you.

He stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at you with a mixture of confusion and fear before nodding slowly. “Yeah…why?” He murmured as he walked towards you, quickly closing any distance between you that you worked so hard to make. “Mozz?” You asked, gentle curiosity laced in your tone for the first time that night.

Miles looked dumbfounded. His sudden aura of anger and nonchalance melted before your very eyes before quiet forced giggles erupted from his throat. Quiet giddy chuckles quickly became cries, babbles of “I'm sorry” quickly leaving his lips as he lowered himself to the ground and became consumed by regret. “Ma I’m so fucking sorry I would’ve never put my hands on you…” he whispered, shaky breaths leaving his lips as you quickly came to his aid.

“Wait nononono don’t cry!” you pleaded, checking your surroundings to make sure there weren't any cameras, helicopters, or paparazzi before pulling off your mask. “This doesn’t even hurt! It’s fine! C’mon don’t cry, get up,” You pleaded as you scooped up your weeping boyfriend off the floor. His mask collapsed as he leaned into your hold, wetting your suit with salty tears as he grasped at your hand.

“It’s not fine! Since when is me hurting you fine!” He gasped, “I never wanted to do this prowler shit! I only did it so Mamí wouldn’t have to worry about bills…”  he confessed as you peppered gentle kisses to his face. You nodded as he came apart in your arms, feeling your heart shatter into a million pieces as he practically died upon hearing his nickname.

“Miles, I’m not mad! I know you wouldn’t ever hurt me. It’s my JOB to stop villains. It's YOUR job to…be a villain! I still don’t know what you do I’m sorry boo,” you confessed, giving his head gentle pats as he chuckled into your side. “I’m not no villain. I just do what people tell me,” he shrugged, pulling you down to the ‘ground’ with him.

“ ‘m sorry. You know that right? I’ll quit all of this prowler shit Ma I just never wanna hurt you again” he whispered, pressing his lips to yours and pulling you impossibly closer to him.

“You miss a date again and I’m turning you in,” you joked in between kisses.

“Yeah Yeah my bad”

Tags below <3333

@ashsostrange @chessbox @janaeby @faeriesoiree333 @fivestardior @an1bara @bachirasgoist @milesnanana77 @niaurluv @sp1derw1re @ban-al3x  @we-loveebony @kae2kaee @dxrlingcc @al3xwqz @l0starl @hobiebrownismygod @luv-kae @moriellis @daydreaming-en-pointe @malinashiftss @imjustagirlintheworld777 @edevotion

[jymwahuwu]

I got out of bed… This is what I thought of on the way to get off work.

Sunday's controlling nature…um, it's so real, his behavior: always making sure he's dressed appropriately, planning with zero risk, inviting Aeon and mind-controlling and "blessing", and putting a Penacony miniature in a place where he can observe.

Robin… I guess, Robin actually has to report the singing practice situation to her brother💀 She emphasized in the letter that she used time outside of rehearsals to investigate, obviously not wanting to disappoint her brother.

So, will he control us like this too🥺

He has to master something in order to feel relaxed. When he is not around you, the raven is always with you, in the sky, in the building, and behind you. He wouldn't be…so harsh. You just need to use your phone to send him some messages about daily life, about what you ate and whether you went to bed on time (oops, I didn't). He could verify the truth of your words, but honestly, he didn't have to be so grandiose about asking Aeon to share their power every time. He really doesn't want to control or brainwash you. Trust him, okay?

He just wants the Family to run happily and everything goes according to plan :3 (oh this man has a smug cat mouth like jy)

[mullermilkshake]

Milk for pussy cats

Yakuza!Choso x reader Tags: Yakuza AU, 80’s Japan, fluff, lots and lots of cats, cuteness overload, kittens

When you agreed to go on another date with Choso, he didn’t think that taking you to see the cats he grew up chasing.

Luckily, the majority of them weren’t in the sewer when he eventually found them. Part of him hiding what dingy doings he did just to pass the time.

That and fighting, though he was thankful that you hadn’t seen any more of his battle scars just yet, besides the one across his nose.

Chose assumed you’d run a mile when he came forward honestly with his feelings, that you would take any chance to pull away in disgust. But you didn’t.

In fact, you were far too good for him, watching the world go by and subtly slipping your soft hand into his as the sky grew darker.

There was still much you needed to heal from, losing your ex the way that you did and all that blood. Choso dreaded to think what was rushing around your brain with memories and feeling a that he just couldn’t comprehend or assist with.

But he could give you his love. He hoped that was enough and that you'd receive it with open arms when you were ready.

“It’s just down there.”

You smiled and eyed the direction of his finger. “I’m not usually a surprise type of person you know? I’m too impatient.”

“Almost there,” Choso said, taking you across the street to the nearest convenient store. “We just need something to bring with us, we can’t go empty handed.”

Your eyes widened with curiosity. “I’m guessing you won’t give me any clues?”

Choso let go of your hand and made his way to the back of the store. “I’m hoping this is a hint for you.”

A carton of milk.

"Milk?"

Choso was nervous for a moment. Would you think he was weird, or a guy who just liked to drink a carton of milk in the street? You expression did not say that at all, it was like the cogs in your brain was turning and working it all out.

You didn't give him an answer, just the cutest smile he'd ever seen. "This way, right?"

He nodded and watched you wander down past the store and towards the alley, looking close to the floor and almost tiptoeing along the brick until you were met with a corner.

"I knew it," you were grinning, crouching down before Choso even made it there. "I love cats!"

Choso let the breath he was holding, the cats were a good idea though he had many questions rolling over in his brain on the way over here because he wasn't sure if you were allergic or just hated cats.

What if this date resulted with you in the hospital over night because Choso just wasn't good enough to take you to the posh places and had you rolling about in the street with cat hair that could have hurt you.

To hear you loved them was the best case scenario.

"I'm gad you do, they're all over the city so I bring them milk and food so they don't go hungry." he didn't dare explain the extent of his relationship with these cats, growing up chasing them and giving them a home and miniature village in the sewers out of cardboard boxes.

You turned to look at him, letting one of the cats rub up against your hand absentmindedly. "You take care of them all? That's the nicest thing I think I've ever heard. They get treated so badly here, especially around the clubs and bars, it's nice to hear that someone else feels the same way I do about them."

Pulling out a dish from his pocket, Choso nodded and couldn't think of the words to produce from his lips that would not make him a fumbling idiot.

So he just poured the milk and watched the cats flock over. Ten of them meowing and stretching in the little nook away from the hustle of the street like they always did when Choso found them.

"Oh!" something had caught your attention, "look, that one has babies. They're so cute!"

Choso hadn't realised she'd had her kittens yet, "Let's give her some milk, I haven't seen her for a while, she's probably hungry."

The cat in particular was a veteran with Choso, one of the first of many that he caught with his bare hands as he was growing up. She was a quick one, clever too and loved to sit upon his lap when the nights got too cold down there in the sewer whenever Choso found himself below ground.

Like a proud father, he watched her nurse her babies and rubbed right under her chin for good luck. "Good girl."

"Thanks for this, Choso. This was a nice date."

That was good news, right? It meant you wanted to do something else with him, that was the best sign he could have hoped for.

"With everything that happened last year, I didn't think I would find someone who made me feel safe again, and you changed my mind completely."

You looked at him with such adoration, half lidded eyes with a cat snuggled on your lap. Did he appear to look at you the same way? He was most definitely looking at you like that in his heart.

Feeling safe was something Choso didn't have much to do with growing up, not until he found his brothers and Yuji to fill part of the void he was never given.

Before long, in his own trance, Choso hadn't realised that you were leaning into him and getting closer to his face. He wasn't sure how to approach it. If he turned in, it might throw you off unless you initiated what looked to be a kiss.

He could not run that risk of it not being a kiss, then you would think he was odd and run off never to see him again. So the remained still and waited for the sensation of your soft lips on his cheek.

"Thank you. I hope we can do it again soon."

If Choso had anything to do with it, he'd take you out every night.

[bonbonchocolates]

Game Over

Yandere Taehyung x Reader

Summary: When you and your friends get trapped in a game......

Warnings: yandere tae, obsessive behavior, death (of minor characters), blackmailing

A/N: Again originally from my Wattpad account. If you like it please leave a like.

Masterlist

____________________________________________

"Look everyone, what I found?"

Jiwon yelled coming towards you with a big box in her hands. She placed it down on the coffee table near the couch you were sitting on.

"What is it?"

Serim asked in curiosity. Being the curious type she got excited as soon as she saw the box that Jiwon brought.

All your other friends left what they were doing and rushed to see the box. You observed the box.

"It seems like a game to me."

You being the most intelligent among all your friends guessed it without opening the box.

"This seems fun."

Sihyeon commented.

You all sat on the ground surrounding the coffee table where the box was kept. Eunji tried to open the box but to her disappointment she failed.

"It's too tight."

She complaint.

"Let me try"

Yoorim suggested and tried to open the box. To her luck the box opened this time. She is the strongest among all of you afterall.

"You are strong, Yoo"

Jiwon complemented her while clapping.

"I know bish."

You all erupted in laughter. Just Yoorim being Yoorim.

After the box was opened you found a model of something that looked like that of an amusement park to you. Though it was a small model, it seemed real. You were totally intrigued by it. Your eyes then caught a piece of paper beside it, you picked it up and and began to read.

"Welcome to my game of hide and seek. The game is very simple, you need to hide from me and escape from the amusement park. You all have two hours, if you escape then you are free but if you are caught, you lose the game and if you are not able to escape within the time given to you, you'll be trapped with me here, FOREVER.

But there are rules you all need to follow:

1. Don't be in pairs. It will be easy for me to find you.

2. If you feel like I'm behind you, don't turn back and continue the game.

3. Don't expect me to play fair because I never play fair.

4. The last and most important important rule, don't beg in front of me if you lose the game because I will show no mercy.

If you want to still proceed then it's up to you. The choice is yours now. Good luck.

-KTH"

You read out loud so all your friends can hear.

"But, how to play it?"

Eunji asked.

Just then Jiwon discovered a small box made up of cardboard. She opened it and found small miniature characters inside it.

"Guys, I think that each one of us needs to take these small characters and place them in the miniature amusement park."

Jiwon explained.

"Isn't it like playing with dolls?"

Sihyeon complaint.

You all did what Jiwon told, completely ignoring Sihyeon. Then you found a small character of a man dressed weirdly between the bunch of miniature characters. It was bigger than the others in size and had a strange clothing.

"He must be the one who will try to catch us."

You explained to your friends and they nodded their head in understanding.

"Guys I don't think we should play the game."

Yiren said. Truth to be said you also got negative vibes from it and your gut feeling was saying you not to play it.

"I think Yiren is right."

You commented.

"Oh ho, Y/N you are no fun."

Yoorim said.

"And Yiren what is wrong if we play it. It is totally harmless, right? Stop being a scaredy cat."

Yoorim complaint.

"Let's start the game."

Serim clapped her hands and placed the miniature of the weirdly dressed man on the miniature amusement park.

As soon as she placed it you heard a weird sound coming from the kitchen.

"Must be a cat."

Jiwon said.

"Guys look"

Sihyeon showed you a picture of a man that she found in the box where the game was kept.

"He is so handsome."

Eunji commented.

"He looks creepy"

I said being completed uninterested. Then you snatched the picture from Sihyeon's hand and started observing it. You feel like you saw it somewhere but you couldn't recall where.

"Let's not play the ga-"

Before you could complete the sentence you found your friends, they laid on the floor. They all fainted and now you to started to feel dizzy.

What is happening to me?

Then everything blacked out.

____________________________________________

"Y/N, wake up!"

You heard someone yelling at you. You opened your eyes to find the faces of your friends looking worriedly at you. You got up and imagined to find yourself in your room but as you observed your surroundings you found yourself somewhere else.

"Where are we?"

You asked.

"I don't know but it seems like an amusement park to me."

Sihyeon said.

(Sorry, I couldn't find a better picture)

You observed your surroundings more clearly this time and it looked like an abundant amusement park to you. You feel like you saw it somewhere before. You tried to recall what happened before you fainted, you remembered about the game. You joined the dots together and you understood everything.

Oh no, we are trapped in the game.

"Guys, do you remember the game?"

You tried to indirectly inform that you all are trapped in the game, you don't know why.

"Wait, don't say that we are trapped in the game?"

Serim said finally understanding it.

"This is why I told you not to play the game."

Yiren said while a few drops of tears were rolling down her face.

"It's just a nightmare, we'll wake up soon."

Sihyeon said trying to come with an explanation with what is happening right now. You hoped that she is right but deep down you know she is not. Still to convince yourself you pinched yourself and felt hurt, that means you are not dreaming.

"It's all Serim's fault, she was the one who was so eager to play the game."

Eunji complaint.

"Shut up, Eunji. You are saying as if you didn't want to play the game."

"Stob it you all. It's not the time to fight, right now we need to find a way to get out of the game."

Jiwon said.

Just then you heard someone laughing. It sounded like a male voice. You looked around and found no one except your friends. You all were confused now.

"Welcome girls, I hope you all know the rules of the game, so let's get started. I can't wait anymore, it has been decades since someone came here. It will be fun to hunt you all down. Let the game begin, find a good hiding spot, somewhere that I won't find you. Best of luck."

A deep male voice greeted you from somewhere. You could only hear his voice but couldn't see him.

"Who are you?"

You asked with all the courage that you gained. Once again you heard the sound of laughter.

"Curious, are we? Don't worry Y/N dear I'll soon reveal myself, till then try to hide from me."

His voice sent shivers down your spine and moreover he knew your name. That means he knows everyone's names.

"We only have two hours, we need to escape from here soon"

Jiwon said and told you all to follow her. At first you all started following her but then he remembered something and stoped in your track.

"Wait, in the rules it was written that we should not be together or it will be easy for that man to catch us."

You said.

"Does it mean that we need to separate from each other?"

Yoorim asked.

"Unfortunately yes"

You said her.

"Just remember all the rules and don't let your fear take control over you. We'll surely win the game, just trust yourself."

Jiwon said and with that you all parted your ways. However you need to find the way out. You randomly started walking not knowing where you were going.

After a few minutes of walking you couldn't find anything that can lead you to the exit. The only thing you observed was that the amusement park was huge and there were randomly wardrobes placed here and there. It was weird for wardrobes to be in a theme park, maybe it is for hiding.

Just then you heard footsteps behind you, you were about to turn back but you stopped after you remembered the rule.

If you feel like I'm behind you, don't turn back and continue the game.

You started running and then you hid yourself inside a wardrobe and closed the door. From the holes of the wardrobe you saw a man outside. Your eyes widened when you saw the man was weirdly dressed but you couldn't see his face.

"Clever, sweetheart, I like it."

He said in his deep voice and he went away. Deep down you felt like he knows where you are hiding but he is just acting as if he has no idea. Obviously, you don't think that he is as stupid as Granny.

After waiting for a few minutes you got out of the wardrobe where you were hiding. You then continued on your way and soon you found a tent. You got inside in hope of finding a clue to get out.

You started searching everywhere inside the tent but you couldn't find anything. At last you found a picture. As soon as you saw the picture, your eyes popped out, it was a picture of the same man whom you saw in the picture that Sihyeon showed you. He was with a girl and unexpectedly the girl looked like you. The photo seemed to be old and soon you kept the photo from where you picked it up.

Maybe my mind is playing tricks with me.

You continued on your way. You just hoped that your friends are okay. You had no idea how much time do you have left with yourself. You need to be fast.

After some time what happened to be a small house caught your attention. You quickly went towards it and tried to open the door. To your luck it was not locked and you entered inside. This place was not like the others, it looked like it was recently used. It was cleaned and decent.

The house had only one room attached with a bathroom. You began to investigate the house. You saw the room had a bed, a couch and other furnitures. All were clean and dust free like they have been in use recently.

Maybe this is where the weirdly dressed man lives.

Then your eyes went to the pictures hanging on the wall. There were several of them and to your surprise it was pictures of the same man with a woman who looked like you. As you observed the pictures you felt like they were memories rather than a simple pictures. Now you figured out that weirdly dressed man and the man in the pictures were maybe the same person.

You ignored them and started to investigate the house in order to find a clue or something to escape from here. Right now your only mission was to escape from here. You hoped that your friends have all escaped or have found a way to escape.

Just then you found a newspaper on the bed side table. You picked it up and saw the date and it was..................1915.

"Businessman Kim Taehyung arrested for charges of murder."

Wait, he is a murderer too. That means he is a dangerous person you need to take him seriously. How much you wished this all to be a nightmare.

Then you heard the sound of ticking. You turned back and found a wall clock and you saw the time. You only had half an hour left. You don't know how you wasted so much time. Now you have no more time to waste you decided to get out of this house.

You went towards the door and tried to open it but unfortunately you couldn't. You banged on the door but to your avail you couldn't open it. You sat down there and silently cried. You never in your life imagined to bring this situation.

Your eyes then went to the bed where the same game was kept, which trapped you here. You quickly went towards it and found that the miniature character you choose was on the top of a small house. Then you understood that it was showing your current location. But you couldn't find the miniature characters of your other friends and the miniature of the weirdly dressed man was just outside the house you were in, so that means he is just outside.

You began to observe the miniature amusement park that was kept in the bed in front of you. Then your eyes landed on a particular place where it was written 'exit' and there was a small arrow near it. You finally figured out the exit.

Why didn't I observe it before playing the game?

"Smart, aren't you, sweetheart?"

Your heard a deep voice, you looked back and found the weirdly dressed man in front of you. This is the first time you saw his face for the first time and you were right it was the same man from the picture.

But one thing, he was hella handsome. What are you even thinking right now?

"So you finally figured out the way? You all the ones who played the game before couldn't find the way out but you, my love are a genius. You know the way so you are free to leave."

You couldn't think of anything and got up and tried to run away past him. And to your luck he let you go and the door opened this time.

"But-"

His deep voice stopped you in your tracks.

"But you'll be the only one to leave because your friends are all out."

He said with an evil laughter.

"What do you mean?"

"Sweetheart, this will disappoint you but your friends lost the game. They were not smart enough and now they are trapped here forever as my personal toys."

After hearing that you broke down.

"No worries, my love, I can make an exception for you. You have two choices either you escape alone or your friends escape without you."

"What?"

You asked in curiosity.

"You are smart, sweetheart so you should already understand it. Ok so let me explain to you if you surrender yourself to me I'll let your friends go."

You started to think. If you escape alone without your friends, what are you supposed to say to their family about their sudden disappearance. It will be very selfish of you to escape alone without your friends when they were with you your entire life.

"Think fast, sweetheart. Time is running."

You wiped the tears from your face and decided to take your final decision.

"I'm ready to surrender myself."

Your words brought a sinister smirk on his face.

"Great choice, my love."

He came towards you and engulfed in a hug.

"Now will you let my friends go?"

"Ofcourse sweetheart"

He said and kissed your forehead.

"This time I will not let anyone take you away from me."

You had no idea what he meant by that but still a drop of tear escaped from your eyes.

____________________________________________

[mirai-e-jump]

Masato Yano Photobook: TONE (translations and select pages below)

Publication: March 15, 2024

Masato Yano's 132 Q&A About 13 years ago, "Masato Yano's Style Photobook" was published with a Q&A. Now, a 32 year old Masato Yano answers nearly the same questions again.

1) What's your nickname? Yanocchi, Masanii, Masati

2) When were you born? December 16, 1991

3) What's your blood type? Type B

4) Your zodiac sign? Sagittarius

5) What size family are you from? I come from a family of 4

6) How tall are you? 173cm

7) Your shoe size? 26.5cm

8) What are some of your strengths? My jokes

9) How do you spend your days off? I'll drink the night before, go to the gym

10) What subjects were you worst at? Math and history

11) What are your favorite foods? Sushi and tsukemen

12) What's your assessment of your own personality? I'm easily obsessive and bored. I'm actually shy, but I'm trying my best so you don't think that way (laughs)

13) What are some of your weaknesses? I'm not good at remembering things like people's birthdays or names

14) What are you proud of? That I made my debut in "Shintokumaru"

15) What's your favorite color? Red and white

16) What type of woman do you like? Someone with a good core, someone who eats beautifully

17) What instruments can you play? None

18) What's your special skill? That I can guess who someone is just by their voice

19) What's your best feature? My double eyelids

20) What do you wish would disappear from the world? War

21) The first impressions that are often said about you? That I look scary

22) The person that you respect? Tsumabuki Satoshi-san and Fujiwara Tatsuya-san

23) What do you have a habit of saying? "~nanoyo" and "oh no"

24) Your least favorite type? Someone who only talks about themself

25) What's your treasure? The wallet I received from Tsumabuki-san

26) The ideal self that you desire to be? I want to be liked by many people

27) What's your "theme song"? Recently it's been that I'm the "most powerful king"

28) Your favorite artists? WATWING, the Carpenters, Eric Clapton, GENERATIONS

29) What do you do when you first wake up in the morning? Put on my glasses

30) What do you do right before bed? Put on the radio

31) What habits do you do unconsciously? Touch my nose, do things like suck on the end of a straw

32) What do you usually perform at karaoke? I tend to sing alot by SMAP

33) What foods do you not like? Shiitake mushrooms

34) What's your favorite thing to drink? Mets Grapefruit

35) What was the first CD you ever bought? Jet Coaster Romance by KinKi Kids

36) What do you like to watch and what's your favorite anime? Great Pretender, soccer games

37) How long does it take for you to bathe? 1 hour

38) What's your favorite season? I don't do well with heat

39) When do your emotions become intense? They don't

40) What are your hobbies? Muscle training

41) Do you cry easily? When I feel like it

42) Do you have a pet? What's it's name? I had one. It was a cat named Chaco

43) How many children do you want? I want two. A boy and a girl

44) What's the first thing you look at when entering a convenience store? The bento corner

45) What do you usually buy from a convenience store? Water and spicy ramen

46) What really makes you angry? Nothing much

47) What's the number one thing you want right now? Muscles! (laughs)

48) What have you been secretly interested in recently? The Korean language

49) What's the one thing you'd take to a deserted island? A lighter

50) How do you relax at home? Burn incense and listen to some records

51) What's necessary for world peace? Love

52) What do you wonder about? Why is there a Ladies Day, but not a Men's Day?

53) What would you do if the world ended today? I'd overdo things as usual

54) S? M? I wouldn't say I'm an M💦

55) What's your phone background? Currently it's King-Ohger (for the past 2 months)

56) What animal would you compare yourself to? Some kind of reptilian I guess

57) What are you into these days? Cilantro

58) What do you like to collect? Miniature food sets

59) What's your favorite scent? White musk types, Savon by SHIRO

60) What's something expensive that you bought recently? A vintage varsity jacket

61) How often do you go out shopping? At the very least I go out once a month

62) Can you cook? I do it often

63) What kind of present would you be happy to get from a friend? I'd be happy with anything

64) What would make a girl happy if you gave her a present? Aesop

65) What's your fetish? Legs

66) What would the ideal confession be? Saying it on the way back home after going out for meals a few times

67) At what age do you want to marry by? Hopefully by 40 (laughs)

68) What's something good you do for your body? I go to the gym

69) What's something you always have on you? Chapstick

70) What's the ideal spot for a date? A buffet

71) Which do you prefer? The sea or the mountains? Both the sea and mountains have alot of bugs

72) What scares you? Roller coasters, horror, cockroaches

73) When does your excitement rise? When my work goes well

74) What's your favorite place? Home

75) What's your favorite store? It's a secret ❤️

76) Are you a meat eater? Vegetarian? Are you a fan of cabbage rolls? I eat bugs

77) What's your favorite onigiri topping? Salmon roe

78) What do you usually get at a cafe? I don't go to cafes

79) What's something tasty you've eaten recently? The umeboshi Fukuyama-kun gave me

80) What have you been paranoid about recently? That a big earthquake will hit Tokyo

81) Where do you start washing your body from? My head

82) What's your favorite type of fashion? Things that give off an "American casual" feel

83) At what moment do you fall in love with someone? Sometimes it's not really apparent

84) What words make you happy to hear? "Your performance was good"

85) What's your favorite movie? Grave of the Fireflies

86) What person do you really want to meet right now? Ninagawa-san

87) What's something that's alittle luxurious? Sushi that doesn't come from a conveyor belt

88) How would you describe yourself with a single (kanji) character? "Think," because no matter what I do or say, I have alot to think about.

89) How long does it take you to get up in the morning and leave your house? On a work day it takes 20 minutes. I usually don't go out on my days off (laughs)

90) What changes your mood? When I'm left out

91) What would you consider (if they did) to be cheating on you? If they did a deep kiss (laughs)

92) Are you sensitive to the heat? To the cold? I don't like either

93) Emails or phone calls, which is better? Writing is best

94) What do you frequently use on your phone? Instagram, Twitter, Uber

95) How old were you when you first fell in love? What kind of person were they? It was a kid who lived in my neighborhood when I was in my second year of elementary school.

96) What gestures do women do that make you feel excited? When they put their hair behind one ear

97) Are you enjoying work right now? I want to have fun (laughs)

98) What's your favorite TV program? Programs that only feature comedians

99) What's your favorite sport? Soccer

100) What's your least favorite sport? Baseball

101) Are you the type of person who likes park rides that cause you to scream? I don't do well with them, but if I'm asked to ride one, I will (laughs)

102) Are you good at athletics? I think I'm a good at it

103) What do you take photos of? Tsukemen and sushi

104) What's your favorite flower? Gerbera

105) What's your favorite event of the year? It's New Year's Eve, I'll have a party with my friends and we'll eat alot

106) What's your top 3 favorite stalls at a festival? Beef skewers is #3, grilled squid is #2, okonomiyaki is #1

107) What was your most stressful experience? Performing on opening day for Shintokumaru

108) Your favorite donburi? Beef bowl

109) Are you good with your hands? I wonder~?

110) How long do you sleep in a day? About 3-7 hours. I sleep alot longer on days when I don't work

111) Is your sleeping position good? I think it's okay

112) What's your favorite ramen? I love tsukemen. I have a "cat's tongue" though

113) What color would you compare yourself to? Purple

114) Do you like scary stories? I don't like them in any way (laughs)

115) What subjects were you best at? Gym and art

116) What club activities were you involved in? The soccer club in middle school and the dance club in high school

117) If you were reborn, would you rather be male or female? I'd still want to be male

118) What part time jobs have you had? A bread factory, an Izakaya, a festival stall

119) What do you want to do when you're 40? Meet fans at events

120) What were your favorite school lunches? Nanbanzuke, meat sauce

121) Have you ever seen a ghost? I might've (laughs)

122) What's something you'd like to try that you've never experienced before? Travel overseas

123) Where would you like to take a trip to? Hot springs, Korea, Italy

124) What's your favorite ride at an amusement park? The exploration based ones

125) How many times in one day do you send emails? Currently, I exchange about 30-50 LINE's a day

126) Were you the type of person who finished their Summer homework early? I always felt like I was rushing to finish it at the last second💦

127) Are you more likely to arrive early for a meet up? Or do you arrive late? For work I'm early, in my private life I'm late

128) If you want to go out with someone, how many years older are you okay with? I've never thought about it in terms of age

129) What's an essential item you need when traveling? Earphones

130) What do you do when you can't sleep at night? There are so many things that I'll just give up. I actually thought about this questionnaire when I couldn't sleep (laughs)

131) What do you think about while brushing your teeth? I imagine that there's red paint on my teeth, and then I'll imagine how I have to get it off

132) If you only had one week left to live, what would you do? I'd eat a bunch of the foods I like. I'd meet up with the people I like as much as possible. I'd leave a secret audio farewell message for everyone

[petermorwood]

The following is, according to @dduane,"Old man shakes fist at unpleasing-and-overpriced-pen-shaped cloud," so YMMV about any or all of it. :->

*****

As anyone who reads my blog will know, I'm interested in - among other things - history, movies, fantasy, cats and fountain pens, all of which get at least a mention in this post..

That's probably why, a couple of years back, a friend pointed me at a Montegrappa Limited Edition pen. Of course he may just have been curious to hear my reaction, and believe me, he certainly did. This post is the short version. :->

*****

The other day I saw it again, and was even more... Whatever the diametric opposite of "impressed" is, because mere "unimpressed" doesn't pack enough punch.

That Viking longship is both a display stand and a storage box, and I already knew the figure is the pen. Despite being described as "a perfect reproduction of a Norse soldier in miniature", historical Vikings didn't dress like that. There's plenty of evidence proving historical Vikings didn't dress like that. And yet...

IMO it's just ugly.

It's also $16,348 at current Rate of Exchange, so Expensive and ugly.

There's a gold version too, which on the website is "price by request", so I went looking elsewhere and here's what I found.

That converts to $224,959.82, so Way More Expensive.

And still ugly.

Some pages of the Montegrappa website are like a glimpse into the lifestyles of the Rich and Tasteless, showing a skewed talent for making expensive things look gaudy and cheap.

Maybe they're a gilty pleasure. (ouch)

Their sensible pens, however, are much more appealing and way less expensive (though most are still far from cheap). This is the Magnifica.

This is the Elmo 02 in "Croda Rossa".

And this is the Venetia in "Vintage Conifer".

I like them because they're shaped like what they're meant to be, as well as looking comfortable to hold and use. The Venetia is especially attractive. If King Thranduil of the Wood-Elves used a fountain pen, it would be one like that.

*****

Nakaya pens are also at the understated other end of the style-scale to exuberant, extravagant or execrable "Limited Edition" stuff, and here are three of my favourites.

"Cigar decapod twist" kuro-tamenuri (black top lacquer over red base lacquer)...

..."Cigar decapod twist" aka-tamenuri (solid dark red over red)...

...and "Cigar" tamesukashi neko (translucent dark red over red and maki-e gold cat)...

...which is a bit more elaborate, but no need to guess why I like it. :->

*****

They are a dream I have.

Because yeah, they're expensive too.

But dreams cost nothing. :->

[akwolfgrl]

Pakan no omega part 4

Viktor had been up for quite some time working and waiting for Yuuri to wake up. It was quiet a slow morning over all, nothing to crazy happening, no one needed to die or be tortured.

He looked up at Mila as she knocked on the door before entering, “Guess whos up and in the kitchen?” she asked with a grin.

Viktor quickly put everything away, ignoring Mila's knowing smirk, “Have you seen Makkachin yet today?” Typically, she was his fluffy shadow when he was home, but he hadn't seen her today. She had a bad habit of getting herself in trouble by eating things she shouldn't.

Mila smirked at him, “She's with Yuuri, he's been here less than a day and already stolen both your hearts,”

Viktor couldn't deny it, didn't want to deny it either. He merely grinned, “If anything comes up let me know I'll be in the kitchen with my mate.”

When he got there, Yuuri was shutting the door behind Makkachin, cheeks rosey from the chilly spring air. He needed better spring wear than what he was wearing. The jeans hugged his lush curves, his wider hips, and his lean legs. Viktor wondered if he was wearing the matching panties to the lace cami he was wearing. The said cami brealey hid the tiny tummy, that if Viktor had his way would be much larger soon, Swollen with his cum first, then his babies.

Yuuri turned to face him, causing him to jump slightly, “I didn't see you there Vik…Nikiforov-san,”

Makkachin ran to him tail, wagging eager for attention, Viktor stoked her fur as he smiled at Yuuri. “Call me Viktor or Vitya, I see you've already stolen my Makka.” He teased, pleased that they were already getting along so well, “Hope she wasn't too much of a bed hog.”

Yuuri blushed and bowed, stuttering out what Viktor assumed was an apology, “G-g-gomen'nasai! (I'm so sorry) I didn't mean to steal your dog,”

Viktor made his way over to him, tilting his head up by the chin Viktor smiled gently, “It's fine, I'm glad she likes you, to tell you the truth i was a bit worried you were more of a cat person. Like Yuri is,”

“Yuri? I used to have a miniature poodle,” Yuuri spoke still blushing but looking less scared and panicked.

“Hmm yes, he's like a little brother to me. But I suppose having the same name might be confusing. I'll just call him Yurio. He's always going on about getting a new nickname. He'll complain, of course, but that’s nothing new.” Yuuri's stomach growled, causing Viktor to chuckle, “I've interrupted your breakfast,”

“It's okay, I can just make something for both of us,” Yuuri hid his face, “If you want that is, you must be busy after all,”

“I'd love to!” he wrapped his arms around Yuuri, hugging him tightly. His omega was just too cute and perfect. Viktor let him go after a moment, Yuuri's face was redder than before. “What are we having?”

“Is it okay if I make something I usually have for breakfast?” Yuuri asked, stepping out of his embrace.

“Of course! It's your kitchen now. Anything you want to make, I'd be more than happy to eat,” Viktor told him.

Yuuri nodded and gathered stuff, “I'm making Tamago kake gohan and miso soup. It's a simple egg and rice dish,”

“Can I help? I'm great with a knife,” Albeit it was usually on human flesh rather than vegetables.” Yuuri smiled at him and handed him a cutting board, knife, and vegetables. Makkachin sniffed at the food couristly, “Idi voz'mi svoyu igrushku (go get your toy),” Viktor ordered, watching as she ran off with an excited woof.

“What's she getting? I only understood some it,” Yuuri asked over his pot,

“Her toy, you'll pick up more Russian just by being here, but if you need a tutor, I can offer you my services. I only ask for a kiss in exchange.”

Even Yuuri's ears turned red, but he nodded nonetheless, “Okay, thank you.”

Makkachin came back shortly afterward with her toy. She settled underneath the table as they went back to cooking. Viktor put music on and watched as Yuuri's hips swayed to the music. It was mesmerizing.

Yuuri started searching in the cupboards. He pulled out the devise his mother had sent over, and the scent of a happy omega filled the room, overpowering the smells of Yuuri's cooking, “It's mom's rice cooker I thought she threw it out. She said it was broken,”

Viktor could have easily bought a hundred rice cookers, but none of them would have made Yuuri as happy as the one he was clutching. A large beautiful smile graced his face. Yuuri shyly kissed his cheek, “Thank you, Vitya,”

[mollymagician]

Using the fact that ao3’s down as a reason not to be mad at myself for finishing chapter 2 of my street artist!Dream story tonight

But I’ll post a niblit of what I got as an offering to the gods of Please Bring Our Stories Back 🙏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Matthew lifted his phone to snap a shot, Hob said, “Hey. Uh. Maybe don’t post this one.”

“What?” he squawked. “It’s free advertising, dude. Why not?” At Matthew’s perplexed look, Hob could only shrug.

He didn’t have to wait long for it to click “Oooohhh. I see.”

“Matt.”

“Aww.” Matthew followed him back around the front of the building and through the main entrance. For all he looked broad and soft-edged, once he latched his brain on something, he was relentless. It was like being pecked to death by ducks. Pecked to death by something, anyway. “Oh come on, man, it’s adorable.”

“Matthew, zip it.” Hob ducked past the bar, hoping he could make a quick exit into the kitchen. This wasn’t a conversation they could have out here, not if he wanted his dignity intact. Any moment now—

“Not that I’m not a fan of anyone telling Matt to zip it, but why are we telling Matt to zip it this time in particular?”

Hob sighed. Too late, he was doomed.

Dar’s russet head poked through the kitchen doors, followed by the rest of her, busily tying on an apron. They’d just opened for the day and only a few regulars had so far trickled in, at least, which meant there would be minimal witnesses to what he was about to endure.

“Our resident mysterious artist left him a token of affection on the wall in the alley and he wants to keep it all to himself.”

“Ooh!” Dar said brightly. “Tall Dark and Spooky strikes again!?” Matthew handed her his phone where the photo of the yellow and gold flames swirled in miniature. She gave a little whistle. “Oh my!”

Hob dragged a hand over his face. “It’s not a token of affection.”

“Wanna bet?” Matthew pulled out his wallet and waggled it. “Bet you ten bucks. Pounds. Whatever. Shit. What country am I in?”

“—and he’s not our mysterious artist,” Hob continued, undeterred.

“He’s decorating your pub and he likes my tea,” Dar said decisively. “That means he’s ours. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

“Actually I’m pretty sure most of the time you do.”

Hob wondered if noon really was too early to start drinking.

“I’m sure he’d be fine with the attention,” Matthew said, “considering that he’s dropping this stuff all over town.”

“No one knows anything about this guy, Matt,” Hob argued. But. You do, a little voice whispered in the back of his mind. You know how he likes his tea, you know his hands look cold, you know his eyes are the bluest thing you’ve ever seen— Hob shook it off and plucked the phone from Dar’s hand, closing the screen and poking it back into the front pocket of Matthew’s shirt. “You didn’t see the look he gave me last time he was here. Maybe he doesn’t actually want any kind of attention at all.”

“Well,” Dar said, flipping a dishtowel over one shoulder. “I can guess at least one type of attention he wants.” She looked past Hob and jutted her chin towards the door. Slowly, trying to be nonchalant and failing, Hob turned to glance behind him.

…you know his eyes are the bluest thing you’ve ever seen and he keeps looking at you with them…

Dream edged in through the door of the pub, cautiously. He moved, Hob thought, as though the space around him was packed with rickety shelves covered in teacups. Slow and precise. Or, as Matthew would say, like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. As soon as his eyes met Hob’s he glanced quickly away and busied himself with settling in at his usual table.

“WELP I should be—“

“Oh look, I’m just gonna head—“

Hob watched in resigned amusement as Matthew and Dar both suddenly discovered they had somewhere else to be and nearly ran into each other trying to get there. He sighed, and set about making a cup of tea.

[loftec]

weekly tag wednesday thursday 👏

Tagged by @deedala @mmmichyyy and @wehangout thanks pals! <3

Name:  loftec

Location:  Sweden

Age: 3...8? Yes. 38.

You have an unexpected extra day off work or school!  What are you going to do? Pack my breakfast to go and eat it by the ocean after a swim, write at the library, do a bunch of second hand shops on the way home, do some crafting.

What is your favorite way to spend a summer day?  Early ocean swim to avoid the heat and the crowds, and then hang out inside with doors and windows open.

What is your favorite way to spend a winter day? Midday ocean swim lol, hang out at home and hopefully get extra snuggles from the cat (he's not normally very snuggly)

What do you do to unwind at the end of the day?  I like to sand little bits of wood into shapes, very relaxing. But mostly I'm on tumblr and watch youtube.

Do you play any sports?  No.

Other than fanfic, what is your favorite genre to read?  Fantasy and sci-fi mostly, right now I'm reading "Light From Uncommon Stars" by Ryka Aoki and "The Well of Loneliness" by Radclyffe Hall.

What is your comfort movie/tv show?  I would say Community and IT Crowd for comfort tv-shows because I have historically rewatched them a LOT and they are, but the last couple of years I would say I have more comfort YouTube videos. Hbomb's Sherlock video, ContraPoints's various JKR videos, Jenny Nicholson's Spiderquest or Escape from tomorrow is a dumb exercise in misery, or Folding Ideas's video series on 50 shades etc etc. Comfort movies for me are weirdly movies that make me cry, but they make me cry in very different ways so it depends on what type of cry I want. I'll spare you my lists of crying movies lol.

Do you write or draw?  A little bit of both, but writing is the thing I do purely for the fun of it.

What other arts or crafts do you do?  I do printmaking and bookbinding and odd little wooden earrings/pendants I'm still not sure is anything. I also like to 3d sculpt and making miniatures. Oh and I'm crocheting a temperature blanket this year, which I'm terribly behind on at the moment.

Describe your perfect breakfast: This year I've been making a very nice oat porridge with mushrooms, miso and spinach for breakfast on weekdays and I love it, can't imagine anything I'd want more tbh. I make my coffee just the way I like it, and sometimes I boil an egg to put on top the porridge *chef's kiss* I guess some nice juice with that would elevate it even more, and a fresh chocolate glazed donut after? If it's a special occasion?

Tagging anyone who wants to do this! My computer is not happy with me right now so I need to post this before it does something drastic!

[cinderella-ish]

This is a VERY SILLY idea I got earlier this week and it took over my brain so please enjoy the Fruits Basket characters as cats! (Bonus fun: see if you can guess who they are before scrolling down!)

Mabudachi Trio + Kureno

Hatori - I went back and forth with him on whether he'd be a black cat or a Siamese cat, but his eyes are so striking! It was hard to find photos of black cats with naturally blue eyes (I'm sure they exist!)

Shigure - a Russian Blue, obviously

Ayame - clearly an elegant white long-hair

Kureno - a derpy and sad-looking chocolate tortoiseshell

Yuki and the Student Council

Yuki is the silver tabby who looks like he regrets all his life choices lol

Kakeru is the very silly tabby in the top left

Machi is the shy-looking dilute tortie in the top right

Kimi is the white long-haired Persian cat

Nao is the talkative (demanding) almost-still-a-kitten tabby

Kyo, Tohru, and their families

we already know what Kyo looks like as a cat lol but Tohru is the ragdoll cat next to him in the upper right (because she's OBVIOUSLY a ragdoll!)

Kazuma is the brown-ish Maine coon. Dignified but still a cat!

Kyoko is the light ginger and white tabby (did you know female oranges are fairly rare?)

Katsuya is a handsome adult black cat

Grandpa Honda is a sweet gray tabby

Kyo & Tohru's Friends

Arisa is a calico (did you know most calicos are female? I feel like that would fit Arisa's feminism)

Hiroshi and Yusuke are twin tuxedo cats! (Right?!?!?)

Saki is a gorgeous long-haired black cat ofc, and Megumi is her miniature

Youngest Zodiacs

Haru would obviously be a black and white cat. I think he'd have a unique marking, too, like a mustache, or a spot shaped like a heart.

Momiji is a blond German Rex (which is a breed I just learned exists!)

Kisa would be a Bengal kitten because she'd definitely look like a wildcat

Hiro would be a little baby tabby

Other Zodiacs

Akito would be a slightly intimidating black and white cat

Ritsu would be a rare male calico (and an exceptionally beautiful one, too!)

Kagura would be a very cute Russian Blue

Rin would be a skittish black cat who's actually a sweetie once she gets used to you, if you're her person

Everyone Else + Bonus Cat!

Mine would be a long-haired tuxedo cat, obvs

I thought about Mayu as a dilute tabby, but I like her as a tortie tbh

Mitsuru is an anxious white and gray cat

THE CUTIE IN THE BOTTOM LEFT IS MY CAT!!! HE'S SIXTEEN AND SO SNUGGLY AND I LOVE HIM!!! HERE HE IS TOTALLY ZONKED OUT BECAUSE THE SUN WAS OUT!!!!!

[daistea]

i wanna peck pre-dungeon mithrun so bad even if i would probably like have a high chance of envying him at the same time have some unexplainable hatred due to him being a lil pretty asshole. (im taller than him btw !!)

still.

i want to peck him all over the face and run my hand over his hair, i'd love to do that with post-dungeon mithrun as well.

I think he’d accept the kisses at first to be polite but eventually start fighting like an overstimulated cat lol

I, personally, would like to meet him at a dance party and then do the thing where u pretend to pull someone closer, and because he doesn’t want to outwardly seem like a jerk, he’ll be beckoned by my call. Like a polite sailor to the sirens. We’ll start talking and he’ll take pity on me and go on a date with me. Then another one. Then another. Before he knows it, we’re engaged. BAM! The wedding is huge and Star Trek themed. He’s never watched an episode of Star Trek in his life. Doesn’t matter. We immediately reproduce. BAM, spawn. Mithrun turns to drinking to cope. But guess what buddy boy? ANOTHER SPAWN. Then another. He’s a father of three now and he’s got a beer belly. We stay together for the kids sake, until he reaches elf middle age and finally files for divorce. We get in a horrible court battle over who gets to keep our miniature clown statue collection. I do, of course. Mithrun buys a sports car but it doesn’t fill the hole in his heart. He gets a dog and starts referring to it as his child. He never calls his real children. One day, in his empty apartment, he chokes on a jellybean. Cherry flavored. I find him just in time(I’m there to drop off a box of his collection of yugioh cards) and I save him. Our love rekindles. We get married again. The wedding is Star Wars themed.

[infectedpaul]

oh yes beetlejuice 2 is just kinda okay . its got a lot of fun gags and sfx but. man is it too long and just kinda is like 2 different movies . like they establish its villain really early on as beetlejuice's ex wife which is hilarious in concept and her presence is really cool...for like the 5 minutes total she is on screen. then we forget about her for like an hour to focus on the human stuff and the other two 'antagonists' on top of the subplot between the deetz and delia mourning her husband + we gotta make sure to put in a bunch of. really pointlessly drawn out musical dream sequences becuse First movie (even though the banana boat segment is what. like a minute? theres two of them that are like . 3-5 times longer) idk i just feel like theres too many god damn characters in this movie

you got the legacy characters (lydia, bj, delia, charles, the shrunken heads ig?? theyre in it a lot more idk why) plus lydias daughter astrid, her boyfriend Megaminds dad, bjs ex wife, the treehouse kid, willem dafoe and theyre all taking up their own little sideplots so its like . 4 different stories all going on at once and theyre all . enjoyable...i guess but idk i feel like the first movie was simple enough with. reverse ghostbusters , two ghosts that wanna get living people out of their house so they call up this schmuck. and they just stick with that the only other plot is lydias grief and crappy family life which ties into the main couples stuff well creating a nice weird. family of sorts. in this movie it feels like they just put a pause on one story for a while and then come back to it 40 minutes later. they establish early on that astrids dad/lydias ex husband died after they got divorced and even though lydia can see dead people she has never seen the dad and the whole plot leads to. the most disappointing and milktoast conclusion of hey. We love each other . Because family.

idk. i liked how they brought charles back without bringing back jeffrey jones it was actually really funny. i really liked all the special effects and they got like a bit gorier/grosser than the first i did like that. beetlejuice himself ill be real hes never been all too funny to me hes barely in that first movie for a reason hes better in small doses. winona ryder and jenna ortega are fine i feel like they really werent given much to really show off their chops despite being in the movie a lot theyre both just kinda. rushing through the mother/daughter story line youd expect. i dont like the boyfriend he just feels like alec baldwin from the cat in the hat. speaking of which no the maitlands arent in this they literally have one line saying they found "a loophole" and just left (although i did see their crash was on the miniature in the opening, nice touch /gen) catherine o'hara no notes as always. the new villain lady i wanna steal her away shes so fine im sorry shes in it for like 5 minutes. willem dafoe being in the movie was a nice surprise and he serves. really no purpose to the movie he could be cut but he was funny i like him and his secretaries

idk 7/10 but a low 7 just wait for it to come out on sflix watch the teen titans go episode for now

[tetskuro]

hello! thanks so much for this in advance but if for some reason you don’t feel like doing my matchup feel free to lmk! no hard feelings at all:)

i would love a haikyuu matchup! any gender is fine, i’m bisexual:) i use she/her pronouns & i’d like a romantic matchup if that’s ok!

okay so for my personality i tend to be really shy when meeting new people. i have a tendency to get really quiet & just kind of stand there awkwardly trying to make conversation 😭 but after i’ve gotten to know someone i tend to be more relaxed. i try really hard to be a good listener to my friends. i would consider myself kind, like the giving someone shotgun in the car & offering to bring people things when they’re sick type. with my closest friends i’m very honest and blunt about certain things but i also try to be sensitive to their feelings. i’ve been described as very comforting and warm to be around by my friends:) i have multiple anxiety disorders so sometimes i can come off as unapproachable but it’s not intentional, i just freak & zone out 😭 i guess the best way to describe me is in the type of person to be straight up when necessary but i’ll also be very sensitive and sweet. i get really frustrated when people are mean to my friends. when those around me get hurt physically and/or mentally by someone it makes me really angry, i’m very protective over the people around me. some people would consider me confrontational but in reality i actually despise confrontation 😭 i just put up a strong front when it’s necessary. i have a hard time being super emotionally vulnerable with new people due to past experiences but i also have a really poor tendency to overshare & then overthink every social interaction afterward 😭 i tend to have kind of dry sarcastic humor at times but i’m super willing to change it up if someone doesn’t like it

i love spending time w my friends! we do lots of things like swim, shop, watch movies, play games. i love socializing with my friends & i do really enjoy meeting new people (in small groups)!! i love film, reading, making beaded bracelets, listening to music (lots of pop, im a huge taylor swift fan), & recently i’ve started building miniatures which is cool:) i have a lot of pets including chickens, bunnies, dogs, cats, & a lizard (i’m a huge cat & bunny person!) i love long form tv shows like glee, greys anatomy, gilmore girls, criminal minds, etc.

i’d want someone who wouldn’t want to like. use me for my body? if that makes sense? i’ve had many people just go for me physically & then when they realize i’m an actual human being with emotions and feelings they dip 😭 and someone who’s kind and willing to put in the work for me. i want someone who wouldn’t judge me for my feelings and emotions. idk i fear that’s the bare minimum but whatever!

ideal first date / hangout would be something casual but cute like getting milkshakes & watching the sunset on the water & just talking but yknow like you hold hands and lay your head on the others shoulder & then they kiss you at your door. just cute and simple:)

thank you!! sorry this was so long 😭

your matchup is...

iwaizumi hajime

⭑ iwaizumi's honesty is refreshing and he's just a very genuine individual

⭑ he admires your kind and considerate nature and how you're always looking out for your friends

⭑ iwaizumi can also be a pretty blunt person and he admires your straightforwardness as well; he's a big believer of tough love

⭑ he relates to your protectiveness as well

⭑ iwaizumi would enjoy your dry sarcastic humor and you'd get a lot of chuckles and laughs out of him

⭑ your first encounter with him might be a little awkward since i don't think he's the type of person to open up super quickly

⭑ but once you start talking more often, you'd be comfortable with each other in no time

⭑ iwaizumi finds all of your pets so cool and they'd take a liking to him as well

⭑ he thinks your hobby of building miniatures is super interesting and would just watch you put them together

⭑ omg i could see him complaining about how long some shows are but when you catch him watching an episode with you over your shoulder, who's the one invested now?

⭑ iwaizumi seems like someone who'd like a casual first date (because i can see him getting stressed out from the pressure of making it perfect) so getting milkshakes and watching the sunset together sounds wonderful

⭑ he'd have a cute blush on his face if you rested your head on his shoulder and try his hardest not to move so that you can stay in your comfy position

your matchup runner-up is akaashi keiji